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LIBRARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT    OF 

^ 


Class 


RALPH  O.  BATES  (BILLY)  IN  1905 


Seven  gold  medals  pinned  on  Ralph  O.  Bates  (Billy)  by 
General  Garfield  in  1868 


BILLY  AND  DICK 

FROM 

Andersonville  Prison 


TO  THE 


White  House 


BY 


OF  THE       A  RALPH  O.  BATES 
UNIVERSIT      J  (BILLY) 


The  Most  Chaste  and  Entertaining  Story  before  the  American  People. 
Endorsed  by  Universities,  Colleges,  Schools,  the  Press,  Pulpit  and  the  People 
Everywhere. 


PRESS 
I  9  I  O 


Copyright.  1910, 
BY  ROZELLA  E.  BATES 


TESTIMONIALS. 


I  am  personally  acquainted  with  Ralph  0.  Bates, 
known  as  Billy.  We  lived  in  the  same  town  in 
boyhood,  and  I  know  he  is  the  man  he  represents 
himself  to  be. — William  H.  Woodruff,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  Feb.  18,  3897. 

Comrade  Ralph  0.  Bates  (Billy)  and  myself 
were  born  and  raised  in  the  same  neighborhood; 
I  am  well  acquainted  with  all  his  family.  The 
story  of  " Billy  and  Dick"  is  the  uncolored  truth. 
That  he  is  the  same  Billy  can  be  proven  by  many 
living  witnesses  in  Richmond  County,  Ohio — D.  K. 
Charles,  M.  D.,  Philomath,  Oregon,  Jan.  27,  1891. 

Ralph  0.  Bates  was  in  Troop  H  and  I  in  Troop 
E  of  the  same  regiment.  We  were  from  the  same 
town  and  I  knew  his  family.  He  is  the  Billy  of 
* '  Billy  and  Dick  from  Andersonville  Prison  to  the 
White  House. "  —Louis  Geoch,  Abilene,  Kansas, 
April  2,  1902. 

I  have  known  Ralph  0.  Bates  for  many  years, 
having  enlisted  from  my  native  -county.  I  can 
testify  that  he  is  the  man  he  represents  himself 
to  be  and  that  his  story  is  true. — P.  C.  Richardson, 
Seattle,  Washington,  June  1,  1892. 

The  query  in  the  minds  of  many  who  have 
heard  this  story  was  "Is  this  really  the  man?" 


198225 


This,  the  editor  of  this  paper  can  answer  affirma 
tively.  The  editor  knows  Ealph  0.  Bates  per 
sonally  and  has  possession  of  the  farm  cleared  up 
and  improved  by  Mr.  Bates  and  his  .father. — St. 
Joseph  (Mich.)  Press,  Sept.  28,  1895. 

I  enlisted  Ealph  0.  Bates  in  the  Ninth  Ohio  Cav 
alry  in  1862.  In  1893  we  met  at  Portland,  Oregon, 
where  Bates  recognized  me  as  his  First  Lieutenant 
and  recruiting  officer;  again  after  many  years  we 
met  by  chance,  at  Soquel,  Gal.,  and  Dec.  27,  1909, 
Ealph  0.  Bates  departed  from  this  life  at  my 
Sanitarium,  four  miles  from  Santa  Cruz. — James 
Beechler,  M.  D.,  Soquel,  California,  Jan.  1,  1910. 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


PKEFACE. 


In  the  winter  of  1868  Ealph  0.  Bates  was  called 
from  college,  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  by  General  Gar- 
field  to  give  his  first  lecture,  "From  Andersonville 
Prison,  Georgia,  to  the  White  House, "  in  the  old 
gray  stone  church,  on  the  south  side  of  the  square 
in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  At  the  close  of  the  lecture 
General  Garfield  stepped  forward  and  pinned  on 
"Billy"  seven  gold  medals  of  the  seven  prisons 
he  had  passed  through,  and  asked  Billy  to  promise 
to  spend  his  life  telling  that  story  to  the  coming 
generations,  which  Billy  has  done. 

It  was  his  custom,  in  lecturing  to  the  schools 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  to  ask  the  chil 
dren  to  write  essays,  or  compositions,  on  his  lec 
ture,  which  was  the  true  story  of  his  own  life 
while  a  soldier  boy  from  1861  to  1865. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  personal  adventures  of  heroic  men  have 
challenged  the  admiration  of  every  age  and  race. 
From  the  fabled  siege  of  Troy,  made  classical  by 
blind  old  Homer,  to  the  deadlier  struggles  of  the 
Great  Eebellion,  remembered  by  thousands  of 
living  men,  the  national  literature  of  every  people 
has  been  greatly  swelled  and  permanently  colored 
by  the  deeds  of  daring  and  glorious  achievements 
of  illustrious  men  and  noble  women. 

But  the  brilliant  successes  of  military  chieftains 
formally  recorded  in  the  history  and  biography 
of  the  times,  forms  but  a  small  part  of  the  real 
history  attending  these  events.  The  unwritten 
history  of  every  warlike  race  has  been  rich  in 
tradition,  song  and  story,  and  we  of  the  nineteenth 
century  have  but  substituted  national  "Camp 
fires"  and  soldiers'  newspapers  for  the  wandering 
minstrelsy  and  Palmer's  stories  of  the  Crusaders, 
and  later  ages. 

And  so  in  presenting  this  volume  to  the  public, 
instead  of  reciting  the  daring  gallantry  of  indi 
vidual  feats  or  wider  successes  of  modern  arms 
or  generalship,  I  shall  rather  confine  myself  to 
the  heroism  of  individual  endurance  and  facing 
of  perils  by  flood  and  field,  which  never  before 
found  their  way  into  print.  But  these,  and  such  as 
these,  are  a  very  important  part  of  that  history 
yet  to  be  written,  revealing  the  temper  of  our 


people  through  all  those  troublesome  times.  I 
shall  give  you  a  sombre  chapter,  Its  colors  may 
be  subdued  and  monotonous,  or  may  become  black 
.  or  lurid,  as  events  sweep  across  my  recollection. 

But  this  chapter  belongs  to  the  history  of  my 
country,  however  shameful  it  may  be.  It  belongs 
also  to  the  history  of  that  Grand  Army  of  the 
Eepublic — a  part  of  which  I  was— that  suppressed 
the  greatest  rebellion  which  ever  rose  among 
English-speaking  people;  carried  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  as  an  emblem  of  Constitutional  liberty 
from  ocean  to  ocean;  abolished  our  National  curse 
(that  sum  of  all  villainies,  African  slavery),  and 
made  us  in  fact  what  we  had  only  been  in  theory 
—a  free  and  united  people. 

In  doing  this  I  shall  tell  you  a  plain,  unvar 
nished  tale.  I  shall  make  no  effort  to  weave  you 
a  pretty  story,  but  shall  attempt  to  give  you  the 
events  and  conversations  precisely  as  they  oc 
curred.  I  shall  avoid  all  tricks  of  rhetoric,  for 
which  I  have  no  taste,  and  essay  no  brilliant  wit, 
for  which  I  have  little  capacity.  "With  charity 
for  all  and  with  malice  toward  none,"  as  Lincoln 
said,  I  shall  truthfully  tell  you  a  part  of  what 
befell  me  during  my  confinement  and  escape  from 
the  military  prison  at  Andersonville. 


Billy  and  Dick 


CHAPTEK    I. 


Enlisted  and  a  Prisoner. 

ENLISTED  June  7, 1862,  a  private  in  Troop 
H,  Ninth  Ohio  Cavalry,  Captain  Wil 
liam  H.  Stowe,  at  Defiance,  Ohio,  and  was 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at  Camp 
Dennison,  near  Cincinnati,  June  29,  1862.  "We 
were  armed  and  mounted  there,  given  an  eight- 
day  furlough  to  visit  our  homes ;  returned  to  camp 
at  the  end  of  that  time;  moved  across  the  Ohio 
River  to  Covington,  Kentucky,  for  a  few  days, 
and  were  transported  thence  to  Lexington,  Ken 
tucky,  all  within  about  one  month. 

At  the  outset  of  the  Great  Rebellion,  Kentucky 
resolved  to  maintain  a  position  of  armed  neutral 
ity.  Many  of  her  political  leaders  were  strongly 
pronounced  Union  men,  but  the  masses  of  her 
white  population  secretly  sympathized  with  the 
Confederate  government,  and  many  thousands  of 
her  sons,  gallantly  but  mistakenly,  marched  off 
to  the  sound  of  the  Southern  fife  and  drum,  and 
involved  their  commonwealth  in  a  fratricidal 
struggle  for  State  and  National  supremacy. 
Friends  and  neighbors  were  arrayed  against  each 


10  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

other.  Fathers,  sons  and  brothers  often  engaged 
in  mortal  combat  in  the  contending  hosts  for  the 
occupancy  of  this  "dark  and  bloody  ground" 
until  bushwhacking  and  all  the  horrible  attend 
ants  of  partisan  warfare  reached  a  point  of  deadly 
malignity  never  surpassed  in  the  history  of  civil 
ized  people. 

As  a  consequence  of  this  condition,  the  Federal 
cavalry  was  kept  constantly  in  motion,  patroling 
the  country  to  prevent  rebel  raids  from  the  south 
and  east,  to  put  an  end  to  rebel  recruiting  within 
their  reach,  and  to  assist  in  preserving  civil  law 
and  order,  and  in  collecting  for  Federal  use  forage, 
grain,  live  stock  and  all  materials  of  war. 

Our  headquarters  were  first  at  Bedstone  Hail, 
near  Lexington,  where  we  were  joined  in  the  latter 
part  of  August  by  the  Tenth  Ohio  and  Second  In 
diana  cavalry  regiments  under  Colonel  Walter 
Brown  and  Colonel  Chase,  the  whole  commanded 
by  Colonel  Chase  as  ranking  officer. 

We  scouted  eastward  some  distance,  south  to 
Cumberland  Gap  and  west  as  far  as  Mammoth 
Cave.  General  Kirby  Smith  was  making  his  first 
raids  on  Kentucky  soil  and  we  were  riding  day 
and  night  repelling  these,  pursuing  his  routed 
followers,  and  conveying  captured  supplies  on 
border  ground  back  to  the  government  depots. 
This  work  was  continued  week  after  week  until 
the  first  of  November.  By  this  time  our  opera 
tions  had  been  extended  beyond  Policy's  Springs 
into  Pol  ley's  Valley,  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the 
line,  south  of  Cumberland  Gap,  and  Kirby  Smith 


ENLISTED  AND  A  PRISONER.  11 

was    driven    back    to    Jonesville    and    Bristol, 
Tennessee. 

The  second  week  in  November,  Troops  C 
and  H  of  the  Ninth  Ohio,  got  into  their  first 
serious  engagement.  We  had  been  a  day 's  march 
south  of  the  gap  in  Policy's  Valley;  had  collected 
a  large  supply  of  grain,  horses  and  cattle;  were 
returning  rich  in  the  spoils  of  war;  had  gone  into 
camp  squarely  in  Cumberland  Gap— rather  on 
the  south  side  of  the  celebrated  pass — and  sup 
posed  all  danger  from  that  excursion  practically 
ended.  I  was  on  picket  in  the  roadway  the  first 
watch;  had  my  relief  during  the  middle  of  the 
night  for  rest  and  sleep,  and  was  called  out  and 
posted  for  the  morning  watch  wholly  unconscious 
of  the  storm  of  sudden  battle,  captivity  and  death 
so  soon  to  burst  upon  our  little  band.  My  horse 
had  shown  some  little  uneasiness  for  quite  awhile 
but  my  first  sense  of  danger  was  at  early  dawn 
when  six  dismounted  rebel  cavalrymen  rose  to 
their  feet  from  behind  some  immense  boulders  by 
the  roadside,  and  with  leveled  carbines,  yelled: 
"Dismount  and  throw  down  your  gun,  you  in 
fernal  Yankee!" 

They  had  left  their  horses  on  the  other  side  of. 
the  divide,  and  had  scrambled  over  the  summit 
and  hid  among  the  rocks  and  laurel  bushes,  wait 
ing  for  daylight  to  capture  our  outposts  and  sur 
prise  our  whole  command.  As  none  of  the  Con 
federate  soldiers  were  fifty  feet  distant,  resistance 
was  useless.  I  had  barely  time  to  discharge  my 
carbine  as  a  signal  of  alarm,  before  I  was  sur 
rounded  and  rushed  off  to  the  rebel  rear. 


12  BILLY   AN   DICK. 

A  general  engagement  ensued  between  our  two 
troops  and  five  troops  of  rebel  cavalry,  the 
latter  having  the  advantage  of  skirmishers 
and  sharpshooters  among  the  brush  and  rocks  on 
the  mountain  side.  Our  little  force  had  no  pro- 
lection,  and  were  mainly  shot  down  or  captured 
in  the  open  roadway. 

In  the  meantime  I  was  taken  in  charge  by 
Sergeant  William  Denning,  Troop  C,  Eleventh 
Virginia  Cavalry,  and  marched  back  six  miles  to 
Maple  Mills,  where  there  were  three  troops  of 
Tennessee  cavalry  lying  in  camp.  As  1  was  the 
first  prisoner  taken  back,  I  was  closely  questioned 
as  to  the  strength  of  our  command,  and  taken  to 
task  severely  for  carrying  war  into  their  borders. 
Some  of  my  captors  were  inclined  to  be  saucy  and 
insulting,  but  on  the  whole  my  treatment  was 
fairly  considerate.  Sergeant  Denning  stood  my 
fast  friend  from  the  moment  of  capture  on  the 
morning  of  November  14th  until  he  turned  me 
over  to  the  Provost  Guard  at  Bristol,  Tenn.,  Nov. 
27th.  I  was  never  able  to  trace  him  afterward, 
but  have  paid  tearful  tribute  to  his  innate  noble 
ness  of  character  a  thousand  times  since  that- 
eventful  period.  He  was  the  only  man  of  educa 
tion  and  intelligence  among  my  captors. 

On  December  1st  I  and  about  three  hundred 
other  prisoners,  embracing  all  nationalities  and 
conditions  in  life,  were  loaded  into  cars  and 
started  for  Kichmond.  A  large  proportion  of 
these  were  East  Tennessee  conscripts  and  de 
serters  from  the  Southern  army,  who  had  been 
captured  in  the  mountains,  and  were- now  being 


ENLISTED  AND  A  PRISONER.  13 

sent  to  Castle  Thunder.  These  were  generally 
treated  worse  than  the  Union  prisoners,  if  such  a 
thing  were  possible. 

At  Roanoke,  near  Lynchburg,  we  had  a  good 
breakfast.  On  reaching  Appomattox  station,  a 
mile  south  of  the  celebrated  court  house,  we  went 
into  camp  in  the  woods  for  the  night.  Here  we 
had  our  first  experience  in  cooking  our  own  hoe 
cakes.  Lieutenant  Andrew  Carlin  of  the  Tenth 
Ohio  Cavalry,  slept  with  me  that  night  on  the 
bare  ground,  without  blankets  or  overcoats,  and 
with  only  the  sky  for  covering. 

Next  morning  we  were  supplied  with  two  days ' 
cooked  rations  of  corn-bread,  hardtack  and  meat 
(but  no  coffee),  were  reloaded  in  the  cars  and 
started  on  our  way. 

We  arrived  at  Richmond  on  the  14th  of  Decem 
ber,  1862,  and  were  marched  to  Castle  Thunder, 
where  we  were  locked  up  with  the  conscripts  and 
kept  till  next  day. 

On  the  forenoon  of  the  15th  the  privates  among 
the  Union  prisoners  were  singled  out  and  marched 
to  Libby  prison  and  were  enrolled,  described  and 
registered  by  name,  company,  regiment  and  State. 

My  comrades  were  by  this  time  cut  down  to 
thirty-three  in  number,  all  substantially  strangers 
to  each  other.  The  officers  were  kept  in  Castle 
Thunder,  and  this  was  my  last  parting  with 
Lieutenant  Carlin.  His  friends  in  Toledo  and 
Monroeville,  Ohio,  made  continuous  inquiry  for 
him  for  years  during  and  after  the  war,-  and 
came  to  see  me,  hoping  to  obtain  some  clew 
to  his  fate,  but  he  disappeared  from  the  knowl- 


14  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

edge  of  tlie  world  from  the  minute  of  my  last  grasp 
of  his  manly  young  hand.  He  was  doubtless  shot 
down  at  some  "deadline,"  starved  to  death  by 
some  merciless  jailor,  or  in  some  way  known  so 
well  to  such  miscreants,  sent  to  his  unknown 
grave  to  await  the  sound  of  the  "assembly'7  in  the 
last  day. 

"  Hap  'ly  thistles,   blue   and  red, 
Bloom  above  his  lowly  bed." 

Arriving  at  Libby  we  were  put  into  the  base 
ment  or  cellar  (nearly  half  under  ground)  in  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  building — a  place  about 
twenty  feet  square.  Many  had  preceded  us  there, 
so  we  were  crowded  past  endurance.  We  could 
barely  all  lie  down  at  once. 

Our  stay  there  was  limited  to  two  nights,  when 
we  were  moved  to  the  first  floor  proper  of  the 
prison,  and  subjected  to  rigorous  search  by  Major 
Turner,  who  afterwards  became  so  infamous.  He 
took  from  us  all  our  money,  knives,  combs, 
watches,  keepsakes,  including  articles  of  insig 
nificant  value,  coolly  pocketing  the  money  and 
valuable  articles.  The  remainder  were  thrown 
into  a  common  pile  and  we  never  knew  what  be 
came  of  them. 

While  at  Richmond  we  had  coffee,  pork  and 
hardtack  served  to  us  in  abundance  as  cooked 
rations,  on  tin  plates,  through  the  prison  doors. 
As  fast  as  the  men  received  their  plates  they  made 
way  for  others,  ate  their  rations  in  the  rear  and 
then  passed  out  the  tin  plates.  But  we  parted 
with  all  such  luxuries  as  tin  plates  when  we  left 


HARDSHIPS  BEGIN.  15 

Richmond,  and  never  had  one  again  during  tho 
balance  of  our  imprisonment. 

On  the  22d  of  December  about  fifty  of  us  were 
moved  across  the  street  into  the  Pemberton  build 
ing,  under  the  pretense  that  they  were  preparing 
for  our  exchange.  We  remained  in  this  prison 
till  January  3d,  1863,  when  sixteen  of  us  were  sent 
by  rail  to  Danville,  Virginia,  and  were  five  days 
making  the  trip. 

We  arrived  at  Danville  early  in  the  morning, 
and  were  put  into  cellars  and  stores  till  evening, 
and  were  started  at  night,  three  hundred  strong, 
for  Wilmington,  North  Carolina — to  be  ex 
changed. 

On  arriving  at  Salisbury  about  half  our  number 
were  taken  out  of  the  cars  and  sent  to  the  State 
Insane  Asylum,  which  had  been  converted  into  a 
military  prison.  At  that  time  there  were  about 
fifteen  hundred  prisoners  confined  there.  Colonel 
Stone  was  in  command.  He  was  a  coarse,  com 
mon,  rough  man,  and  an  old  slave  driver.  Still 
our  prison  fare  was  not  so  bad.  We  had  enough 
bread  and  meat  to  sustain  life  comfortably. 

But  we  were  not  allowed  a  long  rest  here,  but 
like  poor  Joe  in  Bleak  House,  were  ordered  to 
move  on.  This  time  it  was  to  Wilmington,  and 
of  course  to  be  exchanged. 


16  BILLY   AND   DICK. 

CHAPTER  II. 


Hardships  Begin. 

|  WO  hundred  and  fifty  of  us  arrived  at  Wil 
mington  by  one  train  and  were  put  into  the 
new  camp  just  completed  on  the  Cape  Fear 
River,  near  the  depot.  The  camp  covered  seven 
acres  and  contained  mostly  conscripts — unfortu 
nates;  no  tents;  no  huts;  no  shelter  of  any  kind. 
Our  only  fuel  was  the  chips  made  in  building  the 
stockade. 

Up  to  this  time  our  health  had  been  good.  But 
here  our  real  privations  began.  Here  for  the  first 
time  we  received  our  bread  rations  in  coarse,  un 
sifted  cornmeal — one  pint  in  the  morning,  one 
at  noon  and  one  at  night.  We  also  had  one-half 
pound  of  smoked  beef  (or  mule  meat)  issued  with 
each  ration  of  meal.  The  bread  ration  was  suffi 
cient  in  quantity,  but  very  unpalatable,  and  the 
meat  could  only  be  eaten  by  starving  men. 

We  were  kept  here  about  twelve  days,  which 
brought  us  to  about  February  1st,  but  from  this 
time  on  my  chronology  becomes  uncertain — no 
newspaper — no  intercourse  with  outsiders — no 
means  of  easily  noting  the  passage  of  time — but 
want,  cold,  hunger  and  disease  to  continually  dis 
tract  and  craze  us. 

Other  prisoners  were  arriving  frequently,  and 
among  the  last  were  some  New  Jersey  troops  in 
comparatively  fine  condition.  They  had  nice, 
new,  clean  clothes;  were  jaunty  and  hopeful  in 


HARDSHIPS  BEGIN.  17 

appearance ;  had  been  from  home  but  a  short  time ; 
were  captured  by  the  first  enemies  they  encoun 
tered,  and  had  never  participated  in  anything 
approaching  a  battle.  They  were  soon  dubbed 
" Tenderf eet, "  "Pilgrims,"  etc.,  and  were  prob 
ably  subjected  to  some  undeserved,  contemptuous 
treatment  by  some  of  us.  This  ended  in  some  of 
their  finery  being  stolen  one  night,  and  a  com 
plaint  being  made  to  Lieutenant  Donnelly,  in  com 
mand  of  the  prison. 

Donnelly  was  a  young  officer  with  little  experi 
ence  in  dealing  with  men;  a  conceited  martinet  in 
the  matter  of  discipline ;  full  of  bitterness  toward 
all  Union  men;  and  withal  very  proud  of  his  ex 
alted  position  as  post-commandant.  The  next 
morning  after  these  complaints  were  made  to  him 
by  the  young  "tenderfoot-pilgrims,"  he  came  into 
camp  swelling  with  wrath  and  secretly  pleased 
with  an  opportunity  of  showing  his  authority,  and 
gratifying  his  malignant  disposition  toward  the 
Union  prisoners.  Every  man  in  the  camp  was 
ordered  to  fall  into  line.  When  this  was  done  he 
ordered  every  prisoner  to  strip  off  all  his  clothing 
excepting  his  pants  and  shirt;  hats,  caps,  boots 
and  shoes,  coats,  and  jackets  were  thrown  into 
piles  and  carried  away  by  the  guards.  My  clothing, 
although  considerably  soiled,  was  still  whole,  ser 
viceable  and  warm.  My  boots  were  an  excellent 
pair,  nearly  new,  given  to  me  by  my  father  when 
1  left  home.  I  had  saved  them  carefully  for  sev 
eral  months  and  only  commenced  wearing  them 
about  the  time  of  my  capture.  But  they  went  with 


18  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

the  others  and  I  was  left  standing  with  a  pair  of 
ragged  socks  on  my  feet. 

As  soon  as  the  men  began  to  comprehend  that 
Lieutenant  Donnelly  intended  to  rob  them  of  their 
clothing,  entreaties,  arguments  and  expostulations 
were  made  by  all;  but  he  would  not  listen  to  a 
word.  He  said  he  was  not  there  to  argue  the 
matter  nor  to  give  a  reason  for  his  actions.  Every 
man  should  be  stripped  of  his  clothing.  If  he 
surrendered  it  peaceably,  all  right.  If  not  it  would 
be  torn  from  his  back  by  force  and  the  grumbler 
be  taught  a  lesson  he  would  not  soon  forget.  The 
armed  guards  were  ordered  up  in  force,  cannon 
planted  to  sweep  the  camp,  and  the  work  of  rob 
bery  went  on  till  every  prisoner  was  left  nearly 
naked,  in  midwinter,  without  house,  hut,  tent 
or  fire ;  and  with  nothing  but  shirtx  and  pants  to 
protect  him  by  day  or  night  from  the  cold  winds, 
rains,  snow  and  sleet  of  that  miserable  region. 
Force  compelled  dumb  submission. 

Standing  next  to  me  in  line  was  a  young  Irish 
man  whom  I  afterwards  learned  to  be  Eichard 
King,  Company  B,  Second  Pennsylvania  Eeserves, 
whose  flashing  eye  and  flushing  face  showed  good 
blood.  The  veins  in  his  face  and  forehead  swelled 
near  to  bursting,  the  muscles  of  his  neck  and  jaws 
rose  into  corded  knots,  his  breahting  was  heavy 
and  stentorious,  his  teeth  clenched,  and  the  whole 
man  became  a  perfect  picture  of  helpless  passion. 
He  finally  threw  his  clothing  on  the  ground  and 
putting  his  foot  on  them  said  he  didn't  want  any 
rebel  to  wear  them. 

Lieutenant    Donnelly    came    rushing    towards 


HARDSHIPS  BEGIN.  19 

him  with  a  drawn  sword  and  stopping  squarely 
in  front  of  him  began  to  glare  at  him  from 
head  to  foot;  called  him  every  vile  name 
which  an  enraged  ruffian  could  command,  and 
roared  out  volley  after  volley  of  the  most 
blasphemous  oaths  which  ever  fell  from  mortal 
lip.  He  finally  caught  sight  of  a  Union  rosette 
of  red,  white  and  blue  ribbon,  which  King 
had  worn  under  his  jacket,  pinned  to  his  shirt, 
in  the  center  of  which  was  a  small  tin 
type  picture  of  his  mother  and  sister.  The  sight 
of  this  rosette  was  worse  than  a  red  flag  to  a  mad 
bull.  Donnelly  sprang  forward,  snatched  it  from 
King's  breast,  threw  it  on  the  ground  and  stamped 
it  to  atoms  with  his  heel. 

King  stood  for  an  instant  as  if  in  a  dream,  a 
picture  of  grief,  with  a  faraway  look,  and  said  in 
a  low,  trembling  voice,  and  eyes  full  of  tears: 

"I  don't  care  anything  about  my  clothes,  nor 
so  much  about  the  poor  little  rosette,  but  you 
have  dishonored  the  image  of  my  mother  and 

sister— dearer  to  me  than  my  life,  and — and — and 

?  ? 

The  next  instant  the  whole  man  was  trans 
formed  into  a  flaming,  avenging  Nemesis.  He 
sprang  at  Donnelly  like  a  raging  wild  beast  and 
with  one  blow  sent  the  cowardly  rascal  rolling 
and  sprawling  on  the  ground,  in  the  presence  of 
his  whole  command. 

Of  what  occurred  immediately  afterward  I 
have  but  a  partial  recollection.  As  the  gathering 
storms  and  cyclones  of  our  great  plains  often  rise 
slowly  and  majestically  from  the  horizon  to  the 


20  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

zenith,  before  they  burst  upon  the  earth  and 
sweep  every  obstacle  before  them,  so  the  hum  and 
roar  of  resistance  to  tyranny  came  swelling  slowly 
down  the  line  for  a  few  seconds  of  time, 
and  then  the  long  pent-up  cyclone  of 
human  passion  burst  from  the  manly, 
patriotic  heart  of  each  suffering,  insulted 
and  downtrodden  prisoner.  They  fell  upon 
the  guards  in  their  fury,  wrenched  their 
muskets  from  their  hands  in  many  instances,  and 
with  clubbed  guns  cleared  the  camp  of  their  in 
famous  oppressors.  But  the  outside  numbers 
were  overwhelming.  The  "Union!  prisoners  who 
were  not  shot  down  and  killed  in  the  melee  were 
overpowered,  tied,  shackled  iand  so  separated  as 
to  prevent  any  further  concert  of  action. 

In  the  hand-to-hand  fight  I  was  knocked  insen 
sible  by  a  heavy  blow  on  the  head — probably 
from  a  clubbed  musket— and  did  not  recover  con 
sciousness  for  several  hours.  When  my  senses 
returned  I  found  myself  in  the  hold  of  a  vessel, 
among  old  barrels  and  boxes  and  splashing  around 
in  bilge  water.  My  feet  were  chained  together, 
a  pair  of  handcuffs  fastening  King  and  myself 
to  each  other,  and  I  realized  that  I  was  sick,  sore, 
wounded,  feverish,  faint  and  perishing  for  food 
and  water.  The  place  was  quite  dark,  but  the 
groans  and  cries  for  help  which  I  could  hear  in 
various  directions  proved  that  King  and  myself 
were  not  alone  in  misfortune.  It  being  too  dark 
to  recognize  faces,  I  asked  my  comrade  who  he 
was.  He  replied: 


FROM   PRISON  TO   PRISON.  21 

"I  am  the  fellow  that  hit  that  blasted  Lieuten 
ant  Donnelly. ' ' 

"What  is  your  name?" 

"Dick  King/'  was  the  answer,  "and  your 
name?" 

"Ralph  Bates,  the  fellow  that  stood  at  your 
shoulder  until  knocked  out  himself." 

King  had  commenced  calling  me  "Billy"  at 
Salisbury,  before  learning  my  real  name,  and 
"Billy  and  Dick"  we  remained  ever  after  to  each 
other,  and  were  mainly  known  by  those  names  to 
the  outside  world  when  the  mournful  history  of 
our  subsequent  imprisonment,  suffering  and  star 
vation  were  brought  to  light. 

There  in  the  dark,  dismal,  noisome  hold  of  this 
vessel;  bound  hand  and  foot  in  rebel  irons; 
bruised,  bleeding  and  feverish  from  wounds  re 
ceived  as  Union  prisoners  from  the  vaunted 
chivalry  of  the  Confederate  States;  starving  for 
the  commonest  supplies  of  food  and  water;  there 
sprang  into  existence  a  friendship  and  love  sur 
passing  love  of  woman.  It  endured  unshaken 
through  all  the  terrible  ordeals  to  which  it  was 
afterwards  subjected  in  captivity;  it  animated 
and  kept  alive  hopes  and  attempts  at  escape;  it 
kept  the  feeble  spark  of  life  aglow  in  our  flight 
through  swamps  and  forests,  and  emerged 
stronger  and  purer  than  ever  from  "the  jaws  of 
death  and  the  mouth  of  hell, ' '  so  completely  typi 
fied  by  the  Southern  Confederate  prisons.  God 
bless  my  dear  old  comrade!  Dick  is  first  among 
my  waking  thoughts,  and  a  benison  upon  his 
name  shall  be  my  last  articulation  in  death. 


22  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

We  shook  hands  in  the  darkness  of  our  filthy 
prison,  and  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God, 
pledged  that  come  weal,  come  woe,  we  would  be 
absolutely  true  to  each  other;  that  we  would 
never  be  separated  nor  surrender  our  remaining 
rights  while  alive,  and  that  we  would  make  com 
mon  cause  against  our  oppressers  till  both  should 
be  free.  Our  promise  was  kept  to  the  end. . 


CHAPTER  III. 


From  Prison  to  Prison. 


HILE  in  the  hold  we  could  hear  the  noise 
and  commotion  of  many  men  tramping 
overhead,  but  our  cries  for  assistance  were 
either  unheard  or  unheeded  for  what  seemed 
to  us  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  It; 
seems  that  about  150  of  the  mutineers  were 
put  aboard  this  vessel  to  be  shipped  to 
Savannah,  and  that  a  few  of  the  ringleaders  and 
so-called  desperadoes,  including  Dick  and  myself, 
were  ironed  and  tumbled  into  the  hold  in  the 
probable  hope  and  expectation  that  we  would  die 
from  our  injuries,  added  to  foul  air  and  star 
vation.  But  on  running  over  the  list  of  his  pris 
oners  after  his  vessel  was  well  under  way,  the 
captain  discovered  that  several  were  missing. 
Inquiry  brought  out  the  fact  that  some  wounded 
were  dropped  into  the  hold  in  irons  and  had  not 
been  looked  after  since.  He  thereupon  came  into 


FROM  PRISON  TO   PRISON. 

the  hold  to  make  a  personal  examination.  He  was 
a  humane  man — a  captain  in  the  Fifty-fifth  Ala 
bama  Infantry — and  he  was  greatly  shocked  on 
discovering  our  pitiable  condition.  He  plied  us 
with  many  questions  as  to  why  we  had  been  so 
mercilessly  treated.  Our.  feet  and  hands  were 
terribly  swollen  by  the  irons,  and  our  heads  bat 
tered  and  bloody. 

I  made  a  clean  breast  of  it  and  told  him  the 
whole  story  precisely  as  it  occurred. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "this  would  not  warrant  such 
treatment  as  you  have  received. ' ' 

"But,"  we  replied,  "we  have  told  you  the 
whole  truth,  as  you  can  learn  from  others,  and 
you  can  see  for  yourself  the  condition  we  are  in. ' ' 

He  ordered  us  to  be  lifted  on  deck,  knocked  off 
our  irons,  gave  us  food  and  water,  and  made  us 
fairly  comfortable.  During  our  four  days'  trip 
to  Savannah  on  this  boat,  the  guards  were  espe 
cially  abusive  to  us,  and  sought  every  pretext  for 
taunting  us  with  our  imprisonment,  and  assuring 
us  that  we  deserved  to  be  drawn  and  quartered 
for  coming  down  there  to  "steal  their  niggers". 
This  was  the  universal  stereotyped  charge  against 
us,  and  against  all  Union  soldiers.  The  whole 
Northern  army  was  pronounced  nothing  but  a 
pack  of  ignorant,  ill-mannered  Yankee  "nigger 
stealers"  and  "cotton  thieves".  Intelligence, 
education,  chivalry  and  amenities  of  social  life, 
which  constitute  the  gentleman  and  the  lady, 
they  asserted  to  be  wholly  unknown  in  the  North. 
A  Northern  man  was  a  "mudsill,"  a  Union  sol 
dier  a  "thief  and  a  pirate." 


24  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

The  first  night  at  Savannah  three  hundred  of 
us  were  crowded  together  into  a  cellar,  where  we 
were  so  closely  packed  that  we  could  not  turn 
around  without  raising  our  arms  above  our  heads, 
and  when  we  were  counted  out  the  next  morning 
we  left  thirty-six  of  our  number  who  had  died 
from  suffocation. 

Two  days 'rations  of  coarse  cornmeal  were  dealt 
out  to  us,  without  meat,  vegetables  or  anything 
else,  and  we  were  loaded  into  a  railroad  train  and 
taken  to  Blackshear,  the  county  seat  of  Pierce 
County,  Georgia,  a  miserable  little  hamlet  in  the 
pine  barrens,  where  we  were  confined  in  a  small 
camp  in  company  with  over  three  hundred  Union 
prisoners,  mainly  from  the  Eastern  States.  The 
Blackshear  prison  was  completely  commanded  by 
military  earthworks,  with  mounted  cannon,  and 
was  guarded  by  seven  hundred  Confederate  sol 
diers.  We  remained  here  three  days,  when  our 
little  band  was  again  returned  to  Savannah,  under 
the  pretext  of  being  exchanged.  Every  time  we 
were  transported  from  one  prison  to  another,  it 
was  given  out  that  we  were  to  be  exchanged, 
Continual  disappointment  had  made  us  incredu 
lous,  but  as  we  were  actually  headed  for  Savannah 
we  finally  consented  to  take  a  parole,  binding  us 
not  to  attempt  to  escape.  We  soon  found  this  to 
be  another  piece  of  systematic  deception  adopted 
to  keep  us  quiet  and  allow  them  to  reduce  the 
guards  on  the  train. 

At  Savannah  we  were  turned  over  to  Lieutenant 
Irving  Davidson,  of  Kentucky,  who  was  the  first 
and  only  officer  that  gave  us  considerate,  sympa- 


FROM   PRISON  TO   PRISON.  25 

thetic  treatment  during  the  whole  of  our  weary 
confinements  in  many  Southern  prisons.  He 
treated  us  like  human  beings,  respected  our  feel 
ings  and  wishes,  and  supplied  us  with  everything 
in  his  power  to  promote  our  comfort.  His  orders 
were  to  take  us  to  Milen,  and  he  supplied  us  with 
an  abundance  of  bread,  meat  and  vegetables  for 
the  trip. 

Soon  after  leaving  Savannah  the  train  was 
sidetracked  at  a  small  station  to  wait  for  the  east- 
bound  passenger  train.  Here  we  were  subjected 
to  the  utmost  abuse  and  the  jeers  and  howls  of  a 
mob  that  surrounded  the  train  and  threatened  our 
lives.  A  lot  of  old  Georgia  "crackers,"  with  a 
sprinkling  of  boys  and  women,  surrounded  the 
cars  for  hours,  declaring  we  ought  to  be  hung, 
swearing  we  should  never  be  taken  away  alive, 
and  stood  ready  to  shoot  any  of  us  who  might 
venture  to  a  freight  car  door  for  a  breath  of  fresh 
air.  It  was  the  old  charge  of  "stealing  their  nig 
gers,"  by  men  whose  families  had  never  owned 
a  slave  through  all  the  generations  of  African 
servitude,  and  who  constantly  prated  of  their  only 
superiority  to  the  negro — their  color. 

Our  train  remained  there  about  twenty  hours. 
In  the  morning  Lieutenant  Davidson  allowed  us  to 
get  out  of  the  car  and  walk  about  inside  his  guard 
line,  and  to  cook  and  warm  up  some  of  our  food. 
This  greatly  incensed  the  small  crowd  that  still 
hovered  around.  They  declared  it  a  shame  that 
we  should  be  supplied  with  better  food  than  they 
could  obtain  for  themselves,  and  abused  Lieuten 
ant  Davidson  without  stint. 


26  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

We  reached  Milen,  a  small  station  on  the  rail 
road,  formerly  known  as  Camp  Lawton,  at  night, 
and  were  turned  over  to  Captain  Barrett,  post- 
commandant,  by  Lieutenant  Davidson,  whom  we 
never  saw  afterward. 

This  Captain  Barrett  was  a  red-headed,  squint- 
eyed  little  fellow,  belonging  to  some  Georgia  reg 
iment,  wonderfully  puffed  up  with  self-impor 
tance,  and  insulting  and  tyrannical  to  those  under 
his  authority  to  a  degree  that  is  wholly  inde 
scribable.  Language  utterly  fails  to  portray  his 
meanness  and  cruelty  to  the  helpless  men  in  his 
power. 

Our  squad  were  separated  here  and  all  but 
seven  were  sent  on  to  Macon.  We  seven  who 
remained  in  Milen  were  so  sore  and  tired  that 
we  laid  down  together  earlier  that  night  and  prob 
ably  slept  sounder  than  usual  because  of  our  ex 
hausted  and  worn-out  condition.  During  the 
night  some  one  stole  all  our  extra  rations,  so  gen 
erously  furnished  by  Lieutenant  Davidson,  and  we 
found  ourselves  suddenly  thrown  on  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  villain,  Barrett. 

In  the  morning  Corporal  John  Deming,  of  the 
Fourth  Michigan  Infantry,  one  of  our  number,  vol 
unteered  to  ask  Captain  Barrett  for  something  to 
eat.  He  explained  our  situation  as  respectfully 
as  he  could— said  our  rations  had  been  stolen 
while  we  slept— and  asked  for  immediate  relief. 

Captain   Barrett   flew   into   a   great   passion- 
swore  he  would  not  allow  any  blankety  Yankee 
to  come  around  him  asking  for  extra  rations - 
said  he  would  issue  them  when  we  needed  them 


FROM  PRISON  TO   PRISON.  27 

— and  ended  his  abuse  by  putting  Deming  in  the 
chain  gang  "for  his  impudence."  This  was  the 
last  we  ever  saw  of  poor  Deming.  As  no  pris 
oners  were  sent  away  for  some  time  he  was  un 
doubtedly  worked  to  death  or  killed  in  some 
attempt  to  escape  from  the  chain  gang. 

The  number  of  Union  prisoners  then  at  Milen 
was  about  eight  hundred.  All  were  called  into 
line  at  one  o'clock  each  day  to  be  counted.  Our 
squad  was  so  weak  none  of  us  could  stand  long 
enough  to  end  this  procedure,  but  we  sat  down 
on  the  ground  in  our  places.  Barrett  swore  that 
the  men  who  wouldn't  stand  in  line  till  ordered 
to  break  ranks  should  have  no  rations,  so  we  re 
ceived  none  till  next  day,  making  a  fast  of  nearly 
fifty-six  hours.  By  this  time  Dick's  feet  were  so 
swollen  that  he  was  physically  unable  to  stand 
the  allotted  time  and  was  obliged  to  sit  down. 
Knowing  it  to  be  a  case  of  life  and  death,,  I  man 
aged  to  keep  on  my  feet  long  enough  to  draw  my 
rations.  These  divided  with  Dick  kept  us  both 
alive. 

In  the  afternoon  Captain  Barrett  came  into  the 
camp  and  questioned  me,  among  others,  as  to 
rank,  name,  regiment  and  State.  I  answered 
him  in  the  most  gentlemanly  terms  possible,  giv 
ing  all  the  information  asked  for.  He  then 
wanted  to  know  if  I  ever  expected  to  see  my  State 
again,  and  said  in  a  very  swaggering,  insulting 
manner  that  if  ever  I  got  out  of  that  camp  I 
would  be  carried  out  crippled  or  dead. 

I  reminded  him  that  I  was  a  prisoner  of  war 
and  was  entitled  to  treatment  as  such — that  I  was 


28  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

no  dog  to  be  insulted  in  that  manner — as  long  as 
I  behaved  myself  and  obeyed  his  orders. 

He  replied:  "How  dare  you  stand  in  my  pres 
ence  and  talk  to  me  that  way!"  and  fell  upon  me 
to  give  me  a  thorough  pounding.  He  soon 
thought  of  a  safer  way  to  wreak  his  petty  ven 
geance  on  me,  and  ordering  up  a  file  of  soldiers, 
had  me  bucked  and  gagged  and  set  me  on  a  stump 
for  two  hours. 

Old  soldiers  probably  know  what  this  means. 
For  the  benefit  of  those  who  do*  not  I  repeat: 
Bucking  consists  in  tying  the  wrists  together  with 
a  rope,  making  the  man  sit  down  with  his  knees 
drawn  up  close  to  his  chin,  between  his  arms,  and 
then  running  a  handspike  over  his  arms  and 
under  his  knees,  leaving  him  powerless  to  move 
far  or  to  extricate  himself.  The  cramped  posi 
tion  is  exceedingly  painful  at  best,  but  when  the 
rope  is  carelessly  or  tightly  tied  the  hands  swell 
and  the  torture  becomes  devilish.  Men  were 
usually  gagged  by  tying  a  stick  of  wrood  in  their 
mouth  in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  speech.  In 
addition  to  this  punishment  my  rations  were 
withheld  for  twenty-four  hours. 

In  the  morning,  before  I  drew  my  rations,  Cap 
tain  Barrett  came  along  hunting  some  one  to  act  as 
clerk.  Stopping  me,  he  said: 

"Here,  you  little  Yank,  you  look  pretty  smart. 
I  want  you  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
Southern  Confederacy,  and  come  with  me  as  a 
headquarters  clerk. ' ' 

I  replied:  "Captain,  so  far  as  clerking  is  con 
cerned,  I  would  be  glad  to  serve  you,  but  taking 


AT  ANDERSONVILLE.  29 

the  oath  of  allegiance  is  another  matter.  This  I 
can  not  do,  and  I  never  will  do." 

' '  Well, ' '  said  he,  ' '  we  '11  see  about  that.  Before 
you  get  out  of  here  you  will  be  glad  to  be  a  clerk 
or  anything  else,  and  glad  to  take  the  oath.  Do 
you  hear  me!" 

"So  help  me  God,  I  never  will.  I  will  die  in 
this  prison  if  I  must,  but  no  power  on  earth  shall 
ever  compel  me  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  rotten  Southern  Confederacy.  My  tongue  is 
my  own,  and  I  will  tear  it  out  by  the  roots  sooner 
than  take  this  oath." 

With  one  of  his  devilish  leers  he  passed  on  to 
the  tent  of  some  other  unfortunate. 

That  night  two  hundred  conscript  men  came 
in.  The  next  day,  the  sixth  of  my  incarceration 
there,  our  little  squad  of  six  was  counted  out  with 
these  and  sent  on  to  Macon.  There  we  camped 
in  some  woods  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  In 
the  morning  the  non-commissioned  officers  and 
privates,  numbering  about  twenty-five  Union 
men,  were  started  to  Andersonville,  sixty  miles 
distant.  Before  leaving,  several  Union  officers 
and  a  chaplain  informed  us  of  our  destination, 
and  said:  "You  are  going  to  the  worst  place  in 
the  Confederacy,  but  you  must  keep  up  your 
courage;  be  careful  in  speech,  discreet  in  action, 
and  constantly  plan  how  to  keep  up  your  strength 
and  your  hope  of  deliverance,  for  the  life  of  every 
man  will  depend  upon  this."  The  chaplain  espe 
cially  exerted  himself  in  our  behalf,  and  we  left 
him  with  tearful  eyes  and  thankful  hearts. 


30  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

CHAPTER  IV. 


At  Andersonville. 

E  AEBIVED  at  Andersonville  after  dark, 
February  llth,  1863.  As  soon  as  the  train 
halted,  the  long  roll  was  beat  at  the  fort, 
the  guards  turned  out  in  full  force,  and  we  were 
escorted  to  General  Winder 's  headquarters  on  the 
hill.  Here  all  were  searched  and  absolutely 
everything  taken  from  us  which  the  guards  could 
find,  except  our  scanty  clothing.  General  Winder 
personally  examined  scores  of  prisoners,  and 
made  the  search  as  severe  as  possible,  looking 
into  the  men 's  mouths  and  hair  in  many  instances, 
that  nothing  might  escape  him.  Dick  and  I  lost 
our  cooking  utensils,  but  I  managed  to  hide  a 
broken  caseknife  in  the  bottom  of  my  pants 
which  afterwards  proved  invaluable. 

From  General  Winder's  headquarters  we  were 
marched  past  the  post  commissary,  where  each 
one  received  one  pint  of  cornmeal  and  two  ounces 
of  bacon,  and  were  told  that  this  must  last  till 
the  next  evening.  I  then  asked  for  my  kettle  to 
cook  my  mush.  The  commissary  looked  at  me 
in  astonishment  for  making  such  an  unreasonable 
request,  anr>  asked  who  I  supposed  was  running 
that  encampment.  He  informed  us  politely  that 
we  wouldn't  need  such  things  very  long — that 
we  would  starve  to  death,  or  die  from  homesick 
ness,  or  be  killed  by  the  guards  within  a  week. 

The  older  prisoners  had  become  somewhat  used 


AT    ANDERSONVILLE.  31 

to  such  taunts  and  were  not  particularly  affected 
by  them,  but  many  of  the  new  prisoners  and 
"tenderfeet"  wilted  at  once  and  gave  up  their 
last  chance  for  life  through  moping  and  despond 
ency. 

Here  we  were  put  to  work  building  a  stockade. 
The  prison  entrance  had  double  gates  resembling 
a  canal  lock.  About  fifty  at  a  time  would  march 
inside  our  outer  gate.  It  would  then  be  closed, 
the  inner  gate  opened  and  that  detachment  taken 
inside.  The  stockade  first  surrounded  about 
seven  acres.  The  timber  was  cut  twenty  feet 
long  and  sunk  in  the  ground  five  feet. 

General  Winder  was  in  command  of  the  guard 
which  marched  us  to  the  camp  that  night,  and 
as  we  filed  past  him,  remarked  that  "the  prisoner 
who  ever  got  out  of  that  place  would  be  a  lucky 
devil,"  and  that  he  would  come  down  next  day 
and  attend  to  our  rations  himself.  The  prison 
at  this  time  probably  did  not  contain  above 
twelve  hundred  prisoners.  As  there  was  not 
much  fighting  in  the  spring  of  1863,  but  few  pris 
oners  were  added  to  our  number  for  awhile,  so 
that  our  real  privations  and  sufferings  did  not 
commence  till  sometime  in  May.  We  had  coarse 
cornmeal,  grain  and  cob  ground  together,  all  the 
time,  with  meat  and  vegetables  occasionally,  and 
could  manage  to  sustain  life.  Our  worst  priva 
tions  at  this  time  were  lack  of  clothing,  the  loss 
of  our  cooking  utensils  and  a  scarcity  of  fuel  for 
cooking  our  meal.  Details  were  made  daily  who 
went  to  the  woods  under  guard  and  brought  in 
a  day's  supply  of  fuel.  One  stick  of  wood  per 


32  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

day  was  the  allowance  for  each  mess. 

Our  first  meal  in  Andersonville  was  obtained 
by  mixing  some  meal  and  water  in  an  old  cap 
which  Dick  had  in  some  way  acquired,  and 
baking  the  mixture  on  a  stone  heated  for  that 
purpose.  That  night  Dick  was  missing  for 
awhile.  In  the  morning  I  found  on  the  ground 
between  us  one  tin  canteen  and  half  of  another 
one,  which  had  been  melted  apart,  and  a  large 
piece  of  sheet-iron.  My  inquiries  were  nipped  in 
the  bud.  Dick  bade  me  accept  them  thankfully 
and  ask  no  questions.  I  took  his  advice  and 
don't  know  to  this  day  how  he  managed  to  obtain 
them.  The  next  thing  was  to  keep  them.  We 
fitted  the  sheet-iron  in  the  ground  and  kept  a  thin 
layer  of  dirt  and  ashes  over  them.  The  canteen 
was  changed  in  appearance  under  Dick's  manipu 
lations  until  identification  was  impossible. 

One  morning  General  Winder  came  into  the  en 
closure,  accompanied  by  a  man  whom  we  after 
wards  knew  as  Captain  Wirz  (both  half  intoxi 
cated)  and  spent  some  time  looking  over  the 
ground  and  planning  some  changes.  We  bad 
learned  to  pay  no  attention  to  anything  which 
did  not  personally  concern  us,  as  all  our  former 
complaints  had  ended  in  worsting  our  condition; 
but  as  Winder  and  Wirz  passed  about  we  would 
occasionally  overhear  some  remarks.  The  com 
mand  was  to  be  turned  over  to  the  latter,  who 
was  full  of  plans  for  reorganizing  the  camp,  for 
issuing  rations,  and  for  maintaining  discipline. 
"I  soon  brings  'em  round,"  was  Wirz's  last  re 
mark  ns  they  passed  beyond  our  hearing. 


AT  ANDERSONVILLE.  33 

Tliis  reorganization  began  at  once.  The  pris 
oners  were  divided  into  divisions  of  one  hundred. 
A  first  and  second  sergeant  were  selected  for  each 
division,  to  whom  all  rations  were  delivered  and 
by  whom  they  were  divided  and  issued  to  each 
man.  Two  roll  calls  were  made  daily.  When 
Wirz  was*  present  at  roll  call  all  the  prisoners 
were  required  to  stand  in  line  till  ordered  to  break 
ranks,  under  penalty  of  forfeiting  that  day's  ra 
tions,  precisely  as  Captain  Barrett  had  done  at 
Milen. 

By  the  last  of  March  the  food  supply  had 
grown  visibly  scarcer.  A  month  later  it  was 
scanty,  and  in  May  we  were  facing  actual  star 
vation.  Increased  supplies  had  not  kept  pace 
with  the  increased  number  of  prisoners  and 
guards.  In  April  one  thousand  tents  arrived. 
As  the  rainy  season  was  fairly  upon  us  there  was 
pressing  necessity  for  shelter.  Through  the 
winter  we  had  huddled  together  in  our  dugouts 
and  barely  escaped  perishing  with  cold.  But 
now  the  cold  rains  filled  our  dugouts  with  water 
and  left  us  no  protection  whatever.  When  the 
tents  were  finally  issued  great  favoritism  was 
shown  by  those  in  authority  and  we  were  not  long 
in  discovering  that  Free  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows 
were  first  served.  Further  observation  soon 
convinced  us  that  the  same  distinction  was  made 
in  issuing  daily  rations,  and  that  the  members  of 
these  two  world-wide  organizations  received 
much  greater  attention  and  consideration  than 
any  of  the  others.  To  what  extent  such  discrim 
ination  was  justifiable  I  must  leave  others  to 


34  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

decide,  but  to  the  poor  unfortunates  who  belonged 
to  neither  order,  it  seemed  a  refinement  of  merci 
less  cruelty.  They  felt  that  the  ties  of  common 
humanity  should  have  been  wider  than  those  of 
human  organization. 

In  April  some  prisoners  from  Vermont  and 
Connecticut  regiments  were  brought  in.  They 
were  well  clothed  and  comfortable.  In  passing 
our  division  the  thoughtless  wags  among  us 
raised  the  cry:  " Fresh  fish!  Fresh  fish!"  The 
newcomers  wanted  to  know  how  long  we  had  been 
there.  Dick  replied:  "Fully  three  weeks,  and  no 
new  clothes  yet."  They  realized  the  irony  of  his 
speech  and  said:  "For  God's  sake,  boys,  give  it 
to  us  straight.  This  matter  is  too  serious  for 
joking. ' ' 

We  were  silenced  in  an  instant  and  a  feeling 
of  comradeship,  mingled  with  pity  for  their  in 
experience,  made  us  tenderly  compassionate. 
They  had  been  sent  forward  by  our  route — had 
been  promised  exchange  from  post  to  post— but 
had  happily  escaped  the  robbery  of  their  clothing. 
When  they  realized  fully  that  these  promises  of 
exchange  were  but  a  part  of  the  Confederate  plan 
of  deception  to  get  them  to  this  hopeless  place 
with  the  fewest  possible  guards  and  when  by 
looking  upon  the  hundreds  of  grimy,  unkempt, 
naked  and  starving  comrades  all  around  them, 
they  saw  that  it  was  only  a  question  of  time  until 
they,  too,  would  be  reduced  to  the  same  miserable 
condition,  hope  sank  to  zero  and  the  work  of  death 
began.  That  night  we  heard  for  hours  the  agoniz 
ing  cries  of  scores  of  men.  The  next  day  Wil- 


ON  THE  CHAIN  GANG.  35 

liam  Dilz  and  Amos  Danebaugh  (both  married 
men)  of  Company  A,  32d  New  York  Infantry, 
deliberately  walked  across  the  "dead  line,"  pre 
ferring  death  to  the  inevitable  horrors  which 
awaited  them  in  such  a  place.  Dick  and  I  helped 
to  bury  them,  managed  to  steal  their  blankets 
without  detection,  and  thus  learned  their  names 
and  to  what  command  they  belonged.  On  our 
return  from  this  burial  party  we  discussed  the 
situation  with  more  seriousness  than  ever  before. 
We  had  long  since  abandoned  all  hope  of  ex 
change,  but  we  did  not  expect  liberation.  Yet  our 
reason  convinced  us  that  we  must  not  sit  down  in 
idleness  and  despair.  Our  existence  depended  on 
mental  and  bodily  exercise  and  the  hope  of  escape. 
So  we  commenced  a  systematic  visitation  of  all 
new  arrivals;  discussed  all  imaginable  plans  for 
getting  away;  roused  the  hypochondriacs  and 
actually  abused  and  provoked  quarrels  with 
some  of  the  most  gloomy  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
awakening  a  spark  of  interest  in  their  present 
lives.  We  soon  found  that  this  was  good  for 
them  and  greatly  benefited  ourselves.  A  com 
mon  interest  sprang  up  and  several  schemes  for 
tunneling  and  escaping  were  commenced,  which 
might  have  been  successful  had  not  the  ready 
spies  and  informers  among  us  betrayed  our  plans 
to  the  authorities.  When  this  discovery  was 
made,  Wirz  tried  to  force  us  into  confessing  who 
were  our  leaders.  Failing  in  this  he  cut  our  food 
down  to  a  quarter  ration  of  meal  daily,  to  all  alike 
for  several  days.  An  informer  finally  pointed 
out  a  Fourth  Michigan  man  as  one  of  the  ring- 


36  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

leaders.  He  was  promptly  taken  outside.  We 
never  saw  him  afterwards.  His  fate  is  unknown 
to  this  day.  But  this  attempt  to  dig  a  tunnel 
caused  the  guards  to  be  increased  to  two  regi 
ments  of  Georgia  reserves,  composed  of  old  men 
and  boys  exempt  from  field  service.  The  woods 
and  country  around  Andersonville  were  regularly 
scoured  and  patrolled  every  day  thereafter  by  a 
mounted  man  and  a  pack  of  bloodhounds.  A 
heavy  rain  washed  out  part  of  the  stockade  one 
night  and  a  few  men  escaped.  Wirz  claimed  that 
we  dug  up  the  stockade  and  stopped  our  rations 
for  three  days.  The  "  dead-line "  Was  twenty- 
five  feet  inside  the  stockade  marked  by  low  posts 
with  a  single  rail  on  top.  The  illiterate  and 
vicious  guards  were  ordered  by  Wirz  to  be  more 
vigilant  and  to  shoot  down,  without  an  instant's 
notice,  any  who  passed  it.  At  night  they  were 
not  over  scrupulous  and  would  often  fire  on  men 
who  were  far  inside  the  line. 

In  June  two  hundred  prisoners  came  to  us  from 
the  Greensborough  and  Salisbury  prisons.  These 
had  all  been  stripped  of  their  clothing  at  Savannah 
and  like  ourselves  had  not  a  vestige  of  anything 
excepting  the  shirt  and  pants  they  chanced  to 
have  on  when  the  robbery  began.  The  increased 
number  of  prisoners  and  the  additional  guards 
camped  on  the  branch  or  creek  above  the  prison 
polluted  the  water  supply  until  the  whole  prison 
was  threatened  with  extermination.  Typhus  and 
typhoid  fevers  prevailed,  measles  and  small  pox 
appeared  and  chronic  stomach  trouble  was  uni 
versal.  With  no  shelter,  no  clothes,  no  hospitals 


DEATH   OF   CHAPLAIN.  37 

and  absolutely  nothing  but  foul  water  and  coarse 
meal  for  food  until  September  the  death  rate  be 
came  appalling. 

Among  the  new  arrivals  in  June  was  Chaplain 
Saul  Hathaway  of  an  Indiana  infantry  regiment. 
He  had  been  in  Belle  Isle  and  Pemberton  prisons  at 
Eichmond  and  was  sent  away  from  there  on  the 
plea  of  being  insane,  but  in  reality  to  remove  to 
a  safer  place  such  an  irrepressible  patriot.  We 
had  lost  all  knowledge  of  weeks  and  months  and 
only  occasionally  knew  when  Sunday  came. 
Hathaway  came  to  our  division  and  said  he  would 
preach  next  day,  which  he  said  was  Sunday.  The 
whole  camp  turned  out  to  hear  him.  A  sergeant 
came  with  a  squad  of  men  to  see  and  hear  what 
was  said  and  done,  and  informed  Hathaway  that 
he  might  preach  and  pray  provided  there  was  no 
objectionable  language  used,  but  that  singing- 
would  not  be  allowed.  Hathaway  replied  that  he 
would  preach,  pray  and  sing  as  long  as  the  Lord 
gave  him  breath,  and  the  whole  Confederacy  could 
not  prevent  it  while  he  was  alive.  The  meeting 
was  not  dispersed.  At  its  close  Hathaway  was 
marched  to  headquarters  but  was  soon  returned. 
He  started  around  the  next  day,  announced  a 
prayer  meeting  for  Wednesday  night,  and  kept  up 
regular  services  till  his  sickness  and  death.  We 
arranged  for  celebrating  the  Fourth  of  July  that 
year  and  had  chosen  Hathaway  as  the  orator  of 
the  day.  But  he  was  taken  violently  ill  on  the 
second  of  the  month  and  died  on  the  eighth. 
He  lay  on  his  back  in  his  dugout  and  sent 
for  the  boys  and  talked  with  and  prayed 


88  BILLY  AND   DICK. 

for  them  for  days  after  lie  was  unable  to 
stand  on  his  feet.  We  could  often  hear 
him  singing  his  favorite  hymn:  "Jesus, 
Lover  of  my  Soul/'  and  the  still  watches  of  the 
night  were  broken  by  his  eloquent  prayers,  till  the 
night  before  his  release.  He  possessed  a  wonder 
ful  vitality,  and  his  soul  seemed  literally  wafted 
to  heaven  on  one  of  his  grand  outbursts  of  hallelu 
jahs. 

Just    before    his    death    an    incident    occurred 


Billy  and  Dick  in  the  chain  gang  at  Andersonville  prison. 

which  I  can  scarcely  bring  myself  to  narrate,  and 
which  ended  most  disastrously  for  me.  A  South 
ern  woman  who  was  permitted  to  distribute 
"tracts"  in  the  stockade,  took  offense  at  some 


HUNG  BY  THUMBS.  39 

expression  in  one  of  Hathaway 's  prayers  and  de 
liberately  spit  in  his  face.  This  act  instantly 
aroused  such  a  storm  of  indignation  that  the 
guards  had  to  interfere  to  quell  the  disturbance. 
The  conscripts  and  deserters  threatened  to 
trample  the  woman  under  foot.  I  led  her  to  the 
gate  and  turned  her  over  to  the  guard,  informing 
him  of  her  conduct  and  the  cause  of  the  disturb 
ance.  The  guard  told  her  she  could  not  come 
into  the  prison  again,  when  she  turned  around  and 
spit  in  my  face,  and  I  knocked  her  down.  As 
usual,  Wirz  tried  to  induce  some  one  to  turn  in 
former,  and  finally  arrested  about  fifty  of  those 
present,  including  Dick  and  myself,  and  had  us 
taken  to  the  fort,  and  afterwards  put  in  the  chain 
gang.  While  I  was  out  at  work  during  the  day 
the  woman  went  to  Wirz  and  entered  a  complaint. 
On  my  return  in  the  evening  Wirz  came  into  camp 
and  asked  who  had  struck  the  woman.  I  told  him 
the  whole  story,  when  the  guards  interfered  and 
told  him  I  had  done  nothing  to  be  shot  for.  Never 
theless  he  had  me  released  from  the  chain  gang 
and  marched  off  between  a  file  of  s'oldiers.  Dick 's 
parting  salutation  was:  "I  don't  know  what  they 
will  do  with  you,  Billy,  but  never  surrender.  Die 
game,  if  you  must,  old  boy,  but  don't  gratify  the 
rascals  by  begging  for  your  life." 

By  Wirz'  orders  my  thumbs  were  tied  together 
with  a  cord,  and  I  was  entirely  suspended  by  this 
cord,  which  ran  up  to  a  beam  over  the  gateway  in 
plain  view  of  all  the  prisoners.  The  flesh  was  cut 
to  the  bone  by  my  weight,  but  a  feeling  of  numb 
ness  (or  rather  the  absence  of  all  feeling  in  my 


40 


BILLY.  AND  DICK. 


bands  and  arms)  soon  lessened  the  torture.  My 
tongue  swelled,  my  head  throbbed  almost  to  burst 
ing,  and  my  heart  could  scarcely  do  its  work. 
Harris  Wilson,  Battery  D,  Second  Pennsylvania 
Artillery,  near  by,  asked  what  he  could  do  for  me. 


Billy  Bates  suspended  by  the  thumbs  at  Andersonville  prison. 

' l  Water, ' '  was  all  the  reply  I  could  make.  He  got 
a  piece  of  an  old  slop  pan  near  the  gate,  put  some 
water  in  it,  and,  standing  on  a  box,  held  the  pan 
to  my  lips  while  I  took  a  few  swallows. 

The  guard  yelled  to  Wilson:  "Stop  that,  you 
fool  Yank,  or  you'll  get  killed  for  it!"  Just  then 
Wirz  rode  up  and  asked  what  Wilson  had  been 
doing.  Wilson  replied  that  he  had  only  given  Billy 
some  water  to  drink.  Wirz  roared  out:  "You  will 


TALKING   BACK   TO   WIRZ.  41 

never  give  another  man  a  drink, "  and  fired  five 
shots  into  him  from  his  revolver,  killing  him 
instantly.  I  spoke  up  as  well  as  I  conld  and  said: 
"For  God's  sake,  if  you  shoot  anyone,  shoot  me, 
and  end  this  torture."  "Shut  up,  you  rascal,  or 
I  will,"  he  replied.  Suffering  made  me  desperate 
and  I  answered:  "You  dare  not  shoot  me.  I  shall 
live  to  see  you  hung  before  I  die."  Wirz  jerked 
out  his  revolver — the  guards  yelled  to  him  "bet 
ter  not  shoot  him  now, ' '  but  before  any  of  his  own 
men  could  stop  him,  by  reason  or  force,  he  emp 
tied  his  revolver  at  me,  hitting  me  twice.  One 
ball  passed  through  the  fleshy  part  of  my  left 
thigh  and  the  other  fractured  a  bone  in  the  same 
leg,  between  the  knee  and  ankle.  I  will  say  in 
extenuation  of  his  murderous,  cowardly  attempt 
on  my  life,  if  it  be  extenuation,  that  he  was  furi 
ously  drunk  and  simply  acted  out  the  part  of  a 
drunken  beast  and  madman.  A  mob  gathered. 
The  guards  ran  Wirz  off  for  safety,  and  Simeon 
Chase,  of  the  Thirteenth  Ohio  Infantry,  cut  me 
down  and  carried  me  to  my  division. 

I  remained  in  o'ur  dugout  without  much  atten 
tion  till  Dick  was  released  from  the  chain-gang. 
He  undertook  to  get  my  rations  for  me — was  not 
allowed  to  have  any — but  divided  his  own  with  me 
for  a  few  days.  Dick  thereafter  took  care  of  me 
and  kept  my  wounds  wet  with  cold  water  day  and 
night,  till  the  last  of  July.  This  cold  water  treat 
ment  kept  down  inflammation,  and  I  was  probably 
too  thin  in  flesh  to  be  in  much  danger  from  gan 
grene. 

A  rebel  surgeon  came  to  see  me  on  the  fourth 


42  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

day  after  I  was  shot.  He  said  I  was  doing  well- 
better  than  he  expected — that  there  was  no  hos 
pital  room  for  me,  and  that  I  had  better  remain 
where  I  was — that  Wirz  or  the  guards  would 
probably  shoot  me  on  sight — and  on  leaving  po 
litely  advised  me  to  be  a  little  more  careful  in 
speech  and  actions,  if  I  wished  to  enjoy  the  pleas 
ures  and  privileges  of  old  age. 

A  few  days  after  this  Wirz  came  along,  attend 
ed  by  a  guard.  On  seeing  me  he  called  out :  ' '  Well, 
you  little  Yank,  I  thought  I  had  killed  you.'1 
My  blood  was  hot  in  an  instant,  and  I  yelled  back 
as  loud  as  I  could  that  I  was  still  alive  and  should 
never  die  until  I  had  seen  him  hung.  My  saucy 
and  very  imprudent  answer  stung  him  to  the 
quick,  and  he  reached  back  as  if  to  draw  his  re 
volver,  and  before  any  one  could  interfere  he  shot 
me  the  third  time,  the  ball  passing  through  my 
left  side  just  above  the  heart.  As  his  own  men 
rushed  upon  him  to  disarm  him  and  remove  him 
from  the  prison  he  asked  me  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance.  I  said  I  would  not.  He  urged  me  re 
peatedly  to  do  so.  I  said  I  would  die  in  prison 
first.  He  finally  started  off,  saying,  "I  will  bring 
you  under  my  thumb  yet.  Do  you  hear  me?" 
Dick  yelled  out:  " That's  the  stuff,  Billy;  stay 
by  him." 


DIGGING  THE  TUNNEL.  43 

CHAPTER  V. 
Digging  the  Tunnel— Flight  and  Pursuit. 

IURING  THESE  weeks  and  months  of 
my  confinement  Dick  and  I  perfected 
plans  for  digging  a  tunnel  of  our 
own.  We  decided  to  take  no  one  into  our 
confidence.  We  had  seen  too  much  of 
that.  We  had  for  tools  the  piece  of  caseknifo 
which  I  had  smuggled  into  camp,  a  piece  of  hoop- 
iron  which  Dick  had  secured,  and  the  large  piece 
of  sheet-iron  previously  mentioned. 

We  commenced  by  digging  a  hole  five  feet  deep 
under  our  sheet-iron  in  front  of  our  dugout, 
where  we  cooked  our  meals,  and  then  starting 
laterally  towards  the  east  side  of  the  stockade, 
fifty-nine  feet  distant.  The  work  had  to  be  prose 
cuted  late  at  night  and  in  the  dark  of  the  moon 
to  prevent  discovery.  Many  nights  we  had  com 
pany  and  could  not  work  at  all.  The  dirt  taken 
out  was  carried  in  a  piece  of  shirt-sleeve  and 
dumped  into  the  creek.  The  quantity  was  so 
small  at  any  given  time  it  attracted  no  attention. 
The  tunnel  was  about  eighteen  by  twenty-four 
inches — barely  large  enough  to  crawl  through. 
It  took  us  seven  months  and  eight  nights  to  com 
plete  this  work.  On  reaching  the  stockade  we 
found  ourselves  above  the,  bottom  of  the  timbers, 
so  we  had  to  commence  way  back  and  gradually 
deepen  it  enough  to  get  under  them.  When  we 


44  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

had  finally  tunneled  beyond  the  line  of  the  prison 
wall,  we  called  a  halt  and  discussed  for  several 
nights  all  the  details  for  our  escape.  As  we  were 
obliged  to  wait  for  the  dark  of  the  moon  we  had 
ample  time  to  plan  for  every  conceivable  emer 
gency.  We  resolved  to  keep  together,  4rust  in 
God,  to  never  be  taken  alive;  to  strike  for  the 
swamps  on  the  north  and  get  into  the  water  as 
soon  as  possible  to  evade  the  bloodhounds;  to  pur 
sue  our  flight  northward  to  the  Union  lines;  to 
travel  at  night  and  conceal  ourselves  during  the 
day;  to  depend  on  foraging  for  subsistence,  and 
to  trust  no  white  man  or  woman  till  we  were  in 
side  the  Union  lines. 

During  this  period  of  waiting,  the  question  of 
trying  to  take  some  of  our  comrades  with  us  was 
argued  between  ourselves  from  every  standpoint 
which  came  to  our  minds.  The  danger  of  betrayal 
by  taking  anyone  into  our  confidence  was  upper 
most  in  our  thoughts.  The  danger  of  recapture, 
we  decided,  would  be  in  proportion  to  the  number 
who  escaped.  Our  final  conclusion  was  thai  we 
would  quietly  sound  some  of  our  acquaintances 
and  learn  who  among  them  could  be  depended 
on  for  taking  desperate  chances,  but  not  to  trust 
any  one  just  then  with  our  secret.  Our  tunnel 
was  examined  nightly  to  see  that  all  was  in  good 
order  and  undiscovered,  and  our  friends  selected 
and  conversed  with  daily  about  the  all-absorbing 
topic  of  escaping  from  the  horrors  of  our  impris 
onment.  Some  were  faint-hearted  and  despondent. 
Others  believed  so  firmly  in  early  exchanges  that 
they  did  not  care  to  make  any  doubtful  attempts. 


DIGGING  THE  TUNNEL!  45 

Still  others  confessed  themselves  unable,  by  reason 
of  age,  wounds  and  general  debility,  to  bear  the 
inevitable  strain  and  the  hardships  of  such  an 
undertaking.  As  the  time  approached  we  sifted 
out  those  whom  we  could  trust,  and  the  morning 
before  we  decided  to  put  everything  to  the  test 
of  actual  trial,  we  took  these  men  into  our  entire 
confidence,  told  them  about  the  completion  of  our 
tunnel  and  the  details  of  escape  which  we  had 
agreed  upon.  The  courage  of  some  of  these  failed 
them  and  they  abandoned  the  undertaking.  All 
offered  to  give  us  the  last  crumb  of  their  rations 
to  help  us  on  the  way,  but  we  could  not  accept 
these  generous  offers,  as  we  had  no  means  of  car 
rying  food.  The  time  fixed  for  our  attempt  was 
the  night  of  March  2d,  1864,  lacking  but  a  few 
days  of  thirteen  months  after  we  had  been 
marched  into  this  pen  as  prisoners  of  war.  About 
eighty  men  crawled  from  their  places  to  the  vicin 
ity  of  our  dugout  and  lay  quietly  waiting  our 
signal.  Immediately  after  "taps"  (about  nine 
o'clock)  I  descended  into  the  tunnel,  followed  by 
Dick,  and  crawled  carefully  to  the  other  end  where 
it  emerged  by  the  side  of  a  stump.  The  work  of 
breaking  through  the  crust  of  earth  left  over  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  to  avoid  discovery  did  not 
occupy  many  minutes,  and  we  stepped  forth  into 
the  free  air  of  the  outside  world — free  men  as  far 
as  guards,  muskets  and  manacles  were  concerned, 
but  timid  and  shivering  with  cold  and  fear.  As  it 
had  been  previously  agreed  that  all  who  got  out 
side  should  try  to  escape  in  pairs,  Dick  and  my 
self  did  not  wait  for  others,  but  clasped  hands  and 


46  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

skulked  stealthily  along  the  outside  wall  toward 
the  northeast  corner,  till  we  came  to  the  creek  or 
slough  in  that  direction,  where  we  struck  a  wood 
road  and  followed  it  across  a  bridge  that  led 
directly  into  the  timber. 

I  digress  here  to  mention  that  we  did  not  then, 
and  do  not  now,  know  just  how  many  escaped  that 
night,  or  whether  more  than  one  person  beside 
ourselves  actually  succeeded  in  getting  away.  We 
had  the  names  of  over  eighty  prisoners  whom  we 
supposed  might  attempt  to  follow  us,  but  we 
never  heard  of  but  one  of  these  afterwards.  This 
was  a  man  named  Gibbons,  who  ventured  to  a 
house  the  second  day  after  his  escape  and  became 
the  hero  of  a  strange  romance.  A  wealthy  widow 
was  the  owner  of  the  place.  She  secreted  him  till 
pursuit  was  passed,  and  the  friendship  thus  begun 
was  consummated  in  marriage  later  on.  Gibbons 
remained  there,  long  enough  after  the  war  to  re 
cover  a  handsome  sum  from  the  United  States 
Government  for  the  widow's  slaves  and  to  turn 
the  plantation  into  cash,  when  he  and  his  faithful 
wife  moved  to  Canada,  and  afterwards  to  Adrian, 
Michigan,  where  they  lived  the  last  I  knew  of 
them. 

"Our  course  through  the  timber  was  maintained 
by  the  knowledge  of  an  established  fact  in  wood 
craft,  namely,  that  the  northern  side  of  a  tree  can 
be  readily  known  by  the  touch.  The  moss  on  the 
north  side  is  s'ensibly  heavier  and  softer,  and  no 
one  need  ever  make  a  mistake  who  will  give  it 
close  attention.  We  walked  on  rapidly  but  softly, 
speaking  only  in  whispers,  till  morning,  when  we 


IN  FREE  AIR.  47 

struck  a  cedar  swamp,  and  waded  into  it  a  long 
distance,  till  we  found  a  brushy  tussock,  on  which 
we  rested  all  day.  We  heard  no  alarm  of  our 
escape,  no  bay  of  hounds  in  pursuit  and  no  sound 
of  fife,  drum  or  musket  at  the  fort,  which 
convinced  us  that  we  must  have  traveled 
many  miles.  We  were  first  bewildered  by 
our  situation,  then  hunger  began  to  tell  upon 
us.  But  we  talked  all  our  plans  over  and 
over  again,  assured  ourselves  that  recapture 
would  be  certain  death,  worked  our  will  and  reso 
lution  to  succeed  or  die  in  the  attempt  to  the 
highest  possible  pitch,  until  we  reached  a  height 
of  mental  and  nervous  intoxication  which  was 
actually  phenomenal.  Our  thoughts  turned  home 
ward,  and  we  wondered  if  friends  would  recog 
nize  us,  if  our  own  people  would  know  us,  what 
the  boys  in  our  regiment  would  say  if  they  could 
see  us,  and  if  we  could  get  a  furlough  for  home, 
should  we  ever  get  to  our  command.  We  were 
veritably  intoxicated,  and  our  minds  ran  riot  on 
all  subjects. 

"  Billy,  what  will  your  girl  say  when  she  sees 
you.  You  look  pretty  tough. ' ' 

"So  far  as  looks  go,  Dick,  you  have  no  advan 
tage  of  me  in  that  particular. ' ' 

We  both  laughed  immoderately,  like  school 
boys  on  a  picnic. 

"But  I  never  asked  you  about  your  girl.  Have 
you  one,  Dick?" 

His  eyes  fired  up:  "Billy,  why  did  I  ever  take  to 
the  saddle  to  fight  for  the  country!  Why  do  you 
suppose  I  am  here  in  this  miserable  swamp, 


48  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

hungry,  cold  and  naked?  Yes,  Billy,  the  girl  I 
left  behind  me  is  at  the  bottom  of  it  all.  God  bless 
the  dear  girls,  Billy.  We  must  and  will  see  them. 
If  they  don't  like  our  looks  when  we  return,  why 
(he  paused  a  little  in  his  speech)  they  can  look  in 
some  other  direction." 

Then  the  sense  of  hunger  became  dominanty 
subordinated  at  times  by  the  sense  of  danger. 
* '  We  must  keep  our  eyes  and  ears  open,  Dick.  We 
are  not  out  of  danger  yet.  Trouble  is  certainly 
ahead  of  us,  we  are  so  far  from  the  Union  lines. >r 
"Shall  we  not  look  for  a  cornfield,  Billy?" 
1 '  Better  wait  till  it  is  a  little  darker,  Dick. ' '  And 
thus  we  passed  that  eventful  day  in  that  gloomy 
swamp— wet  and  shivering  from  rainfall  and  wad 
ing,  hungry — hungry  as  only  starving  men  can  be. 
The  sun  was  nearly  set  when  we  made  our  way 
out  of  the  swamp  and  commenced  our  search  for 
something  to  eat.  After  wading  through  the  water 
for  nearly  an  hour  we  came  out  into  a  heavy  pine 
forest  with  but  little  underbrush  to  impede  our 
progress.  At  the  end  of  two  or  three  hours '  rapid 
walking  we  struck  a  field  of  corn-shocks.  Talk 
about  not  living  on  raw  corn!  We  feasted!  It 
warmed  our  blood  and  allayed  the  gnawing, 
wolfish  hunger  that  was  eating  out  our  vitals. 
But  danger  beset  us  at  once.  We  could  scarcely 
restrain  our  appetites.  But  tearing  ourselves 
away  from  such  a  blessed  supply,  and  taking  an 
ear  of  corn  in  each  hand,  we  took  a  survey  of  our 
surroundings  and  started  northward  cheerfully 
until  we  came  to  another  swamp,  where  we  had  a 
long  argument  whether  to  cross  it  or  go  around. 


ENTERING  HABITATION.  49 

I  insisted  that  if  we  adopted  the  policy  of  going 
around  such  obstacles  we  should  never  get  through 
—that  we  must  adhere  closely  to  a  northward 
course,  and  then  we  would  come  out  all  right— 
that  we  must  be  near  the  Alabama  line,  and 
headed  for  Lookout  Mountain  and  Chattanooga 
— and  that  when  we  got  out  of  Georgia  we  would 
be  in  comparative  safety. 

"Well,  Billy,  you  are  the  captain  of  this  squad. 
You  lead  out  and  I  will  be  at  your  heels,"  said 
brave  and  magnanimous  Dick.  At  the  fur 
ther  side  of  the  swamp  we  came  to  a  considerable 
stream  of  water  which  we  crossed  and  struck 
through  heavy  timber  again.  But  we  were  soon 
stopped  by  a  noise  ahead.  Oh!  how  our  hearts 
thumped.  ' t  What  in  thunder  is  it  ? "  whispered 
Dick.  My  hand  was  on  his  mouth  instantly.  In 
a  few  seconds  we  heard  the  same  sounds  again. 
It  was  only  the  snorting  of  some  wild  animal,  as 
it  went  tearing  through  the  brush. 

This,  the  second  night  of  our  pilgrimage,  did 
not  seem  a  long  one,  and  we  pushed  ahead  till  the 
birds  began  to  -sing  for  daybreak.  We  began  our 
lookout  for  food  and  soon  came  to  a  small  field 
near  the  middle  of  which  we  found  a  large  pile 
of  sweet  potatoes  covered  with  vines  and  straw. 
Eating  all  we  dared  to  and  carrying  away  all  we 
could  we  went  into  hiding  for  the  second  day. 
We  slept  soundly  in  the  woods  till  awakened  by 
pain  in  our  overloaded  stomachs.  On  starting  for 
our  third  night's  tramp  we  had  to  walk  slowly 
and  carefully  till  our  feet  and  legs  were  limbered 
up.  That  night  we  had  no  disturbance  and  put 


50  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

many  miles  behind  us.  -Toward  morning  we  laid 
up  for  the  third  day.  We  bathed  our  feet  thor 
oughly  before  dark  and  at  Dick's  suggestion  pro 
vided  ourselves  with  clubs  for  defense.  That 
night  we  found  a  rail  pen  full  of  white  corn  in  the 
husks,  took  a  supply  into  the  woods  and  rested 
while  eating  it,  then  walked  on  till  the  braying 
of  mules  and  lowing  of  cattle  admonished  us  of 
approaching  day  and  the  necessity  of  another 
hiding  place.  Thus  our  third  day  of  hiding 
passed  quietly.  We  slept  most  of  the  time  and 
ate  some  corn  which  we  had  carried  along.  To 
ward  night  the  rattling  of  a  wagon  startled  us 
considerably  but  it  soon  passed  out  of  hearing. 
That  night  we  tried  to  count  our  steps  to  esti 
mate  the  distance  traveled  but  did  not  succeed. 
The  fourth  day  we  lay  hidden  in  another  swamp. 
The  character  of  the  country  was  changing ;  there 
were  more  farms  and  less  timber.  The  fifth  night 
was  a  gloomy  one.  There  was 'not  much  conver 
sation  between  us.  We  were  nearly  worn  out. 
Dick  said  if  he  was  back  in  prison  he  should  hesi 
tate  about  starting,  with  his  present  experience 
in  the  matter.  We  crossed  a  considerable  stream, 
heard  the  roaring  of  a  mill  dam  and  towards 
morning  the  crowing  of  a  rooster,  which  Dick  de 
clared  was  no  Greorgia  fowl. 

While  hunting  a  good  place  for  our  fifth  day's 
hading  we  were  startled  by  the  cry  of  a  pack  of 
bloodhounds  behind  us  in  the  distance.  Our  hair 
fairly  stood  on  end.  There  was  no  mistaking  the 
sound,  nor  was  there  any  hope  of  escape  except 
in  flight.  We  started  on  a  brisk  "double- quick " 


DICK'S   DREAM.  51 

and  kept  it  up  a  long  time,  across  fields,  through 
patches  of  woods,  sometimes  in  sight  of  houses, 
cabins  and  people,  but  the  latter  either  did  not 
see  us  or  did  not  care  to  join  in  the  pursuit.  We 
got  away  from  the  hounds  and  rested  awhile,  but 
fear  drove  us  on  all  that  day  and  night.  As  we 
crossed  a  main  road  on  the  sixth  morning  we 
barely  escaped  detection  by  plunging  into  a  plum 
thicket  as  a  wagon  rattled  by.  At  every  stop  we 
could  hear  the  hounds.  "Billy,  they're  after  us; 
we'll  have  to  go."  And  on  we  went.  We  finally 
came  to  a  cedar  swamp  into  which  we  went  waist 
deep.  The  difficulty  of  getting  out  and  away  on 
the  other  side  distressed  us  greatly.  The  hounds 
could  not  follow  us  into  the  swamp  but  we  feared 
they  would  skirt  it  and  catch  us  on  the  other  side. 
But  we  were  so  near  dead  with  fatigue  and  hun 
ger  that  we  decided  to  remain  there  till  nearly 
daylight,  when  by  taking  advantage  of  Southern 
indolence,  an  early  start  would  put  us  miles  on 
our  way  before  our  pursuers  would  commence 
their  day's  work. 

That  night  Dick  had  a  dream.  On  waking  he 
said:  "I'm  all  right,  Billy,  I  shall  get  away." 

' '  How  about  me  ? "  I  asked. 

"You  are  all  right,  too,  Billy."" 

No  persuasion  could  induce  Dick  to  tell  his 
dream.  He  feared  it  was  too  good  to  be  true,  but 
still  stoutly  persisted  we  should  get  away.  And 
who  shall  say  that  dreaming  or  waking,  "coming 
events  do  not  ofttimes  cast  their  shadows  be 
fore?" 

We  emerged  from  the  swamp  unobserved  on  the 


52  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

seventh  morning  and  alternately  walked  and  ran 
for  our  lives.  We  had  reckoned  rightly  concern 
ing  our  pursuers.  They  took  a  late  start  in  the 
morning  but  the  hounds  must  have  soon  struck 
our  trail  for  soon  after  noon  we  heard  them  again. 
Poor  Dick  exclaimed :  i  i  We  are  in  for  another  day, 
Billy,  and  nothing  to  eat." 

I  replied:  "For  God's  sake,  Dick,  don't  speak 
of  that.  Remember  your  dream;  make  up  your 
mind  to  get  through. " 

So  we  clasped  hands  and  made  all  speed  possi 
ble.  At  every  stop  we  could  hear  the  bay  of  the 
hounds  or  sound  of  the  horn.  At  length  it  was 
clear  they  were  gaining  on  us  and  finally,  from 
the  crest  of  a  hill  over  which  we  were  passing,  we 
caught  our  first  sight  of  them  in  the  distance.  We 
could  see  that  the  hounds  were  tired,  logy  and 
slow,  yet*  the  chances  were  terribly  against  us. 
Dick  fell  down — by  accident  he  stoutly  declared 
- — but  I  had  to  pound  him  and  get  him 
angry  before  he  got  on  his  feet  again.  We 
had  by  this  time  learned  that  we  could 
outrun  the  hounds  through  thickets  and  un 
derbrush;  but  unfortunately  the  woods  here 
was  too  open  to  afford  us  much  advantage.  On 
running  down  a  long  slope  we  saw  a  river  in  the 
distance  with  bushy  banks  and  shallow  bottom 
and  with  rocks  and  boulders  above  the  water 
everywhere  so  that  the  dogs  could  have  easily 
crossed  on  them;  so  we  turned  up  stream  and  soon 
struck  a  bayou  extending  inland.  As  we  neared 
the  water  we  looked  back  and  counted  twenty- 
five  bloodhounds  and  five  horsemen  in  plain  view. 


ESCAPING  THE  HOUNDS.  53 

1 1  Billy,  shall  we  turn  back  and  give  up  ? " 
''No,  Dick,  never.     If  we  do  that  we  are  dead 
men,  sure.     Let  us  get  away  if  we  can." 

Beaching  the  bank  of  this  bayou,  we  plunged  in 
among  the  bushes  and  rotten  logs  and  found  it 
very  deep  and  miry.  We  got  behind  a  rotten  log 
and  holding  to  a  snag  on  the  under  side,  lay 
quietly  with  nothing  but  our  faces  out  of  the 
water.  The  hounds  could  not  be  forced  into  the 


Billy  Bates  and  Dick  King's  final  escape  from  the  hounds. 

water.  When  the  men  came  up  they  could  see 
nothing  of  us,  but  rode  up  and  down  the  bank 
some  time  looking  in  every  direction  for  some 
sign  of  us.  They  finally  decided  that  we  had 
gotten  clear  over  and  gone  ahead  or  that  we  had 


54  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

mired  and  drowned  in  its  treacherous  depths. 
We  could  hear  this  conversation  distinctly,  but 
never  moved  a  muscle.  This  discussion  ended  in 
their  resolving  to  go  into  damp  for  the  night  on 
the  hill  above  the  bayou  and  decide  on  further 
pursuit  next  morning.  The  hounds  were  exhaust 
ed  and  could  neither  be  coaxed  nor  whipped  into 
further  activity.  We  could  catch  glimpses  of  the 
treatment  of  the  dogs  and  began  to  cherish  a  hope 
that  our  own  endurance  might  triumph  over  that 
of  the  dumb  brutes. 

After  dark  on  this  the  eighth  night  of  our 
flight,  we  crawled  out,  drank  from  what  we  after 
wards  learned  to  be  the  Chattahoochee  Eiver  and 
debated  how  to  get  across  it  without  loss  of  time. 
It  ended  in  our  trying  to  wade  across,  finding  our 
selves  in  swimming  water  and  in  my  dragging 
Dick  to  the  opposite  bank  by  the  hair  of  the  head. 
We  dropped  in  the  mud  on  the  opposite  bank 
where  we  crawled  out  half  drowned  and  utterly 
exhausted.  We  were  truly  passing  through  the 
deep  waters — bodies  worn  out  and  perishing; 
hunger  impelling  us  to  madness,  hope  hovering 
to  take  her  final  flight,  nothing  but  darkness 
ahead  of  us. 


RETURN  OF  HOUNDS.  55 


CHAPTER  VI. 


w 


At  Aunt  'Liza's  Cabin. 

E  ROUSED  ourselves  at  length  stiff  and 
sore,  wild  with    hunger    and    commenced 

abusing  each  other  in  our  delirium.      But 

we  kept  on  our  feet,  walking  mechanically,  until 
our  attention  was  arrested  by  a  light  ahead,  in 
the  middle  of  a  small  field.  This  we  thought 
worst  of  all.  We  discussed  the  propriety  of  our 
recrossing  the  river  to  get  away  from  human  habi 
tation.  But  the  demand  for  food  had  become 
overpowering  end  we  decided  to  risk  an  advance 
to  this  house.  We  went  to  the  fence  and  stood 
awhile  irresolute.  We  clambered  over  the  fence, 
crawled  near  the  door  and  listened  for  conversa 
tion  inside.  But  all  was  absolute  silence.  It  was 
an  old  log  cabin  in  the  middle  of  the  patch,  with 
out  outbuildings  of  any  kind  and  the  light  within 
was  the  only  evidence  of  any  living  creature  being 
on  the  premises,  I  rapped  on  the  door  faintly,  in 
sheer  desperation,  when  to  our  inexpressible  joy 
the  door  was  slowly  opened  by  an  elderly  negro 
woman  and  no  one  else  appeared  to  be  in  the 
cabin.  She  had  a  tin  cup  in  her  left  hand  on  top 
of  which  was  a  saucer  half  filled  with  grease  and 
a  rag  in  this  for  a  wick  which  constituted  a  prim 
itive  lamp  quite  common  to  negro  quarters  in  the 
days  of  slavery.  We  only  heard  her  joyous  exclam 
ation,  "Lor'  bless  your  soul,  chillun;  come  right 


56  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

in;  honey,  I'se  kept  over  fifty  of  you;"  when  our 
overtaxed  faculties  gave  way  and  we  both  fell  in 
a  dead  faint,  ending  in  sleep. 

I  don't  know  how  long  I  remained  unconscious, 
but  on  waking  from  a  sound  sleep  I  was  greatly 
bewildered.  It  was  a  seemingly  long  time  before 
my  mind  could  take  up  the  thread  of  the  past, 
down  to  my  last  recollection  at  the  cabin  door. 
But  this  did  not  explain  my  present  situation. 
Here  I  was  in  darkness.  How  did  I  get  there! 
Where  was  I?  Just  then  the  sound  of  a  woman's 
voice  singing  overhead  was  plainly  heard.  Dick 
lay  by  my  side  still  sound  asleep.  I  whispered, 
"Dick,  wake  up.  You  are  as  hot  as  a  stove.  It  took 
some  minutes  to  wake  him  up;  but  when  his 
senses  were  fairly  alert,  his  eyes  gleamed  like 
those  of  a  wild  beast  at  bay.  Dick  finally  whis 
pered:  "Why,  Billy,  what  makes  you  stare  at  me 
so?  Your  eyes  gleam  like  a  mad  tiger."  We 
were  both  frightened,  both  desperate,  both  nerved 
to  fight  for  our  lives. 

"Billy,  where  are, we?  I  am  awfully  hungry. 
I  hear  the  hounds  yet. ? ' 

"We  are  somewhere.  Don't  you  remember  the 
old  colored  woman.  I  guess  she  has  hidden  us 
in  a  cave  or  cellar.  We  shall  have  to  wait  and 
see  what  turns  up." 

We  did  not  wait  long.  A  door  slammed  above; 
some  one  walked  across  the  floor  and  our  hearts 
commenced  to  flutter.  We  heard  a  woman  talk 
ing  to  some  person  for  a  few  minutes.  Then  a 
wide  puncheon  was  lifted  from  over  our  heads  and 
the  face  of  the  old  negro  woman  appeared  through 


AUNT   'LIZA'S  CABIN.  57 

the  opening.  Neither  of  us  spoke  to  her.  Very 
soon  we  saw  the  face  of  the  old  man,  who  was  the 
first  to  speak. 

"Why,  God  bless  you,  'Liza,  dem  chillun  is 
alive,  shure's  I'se  born.  Chillun,  you's  still  livin', 
isn't  you! 

"Now,  jus'  look  here,  Noah.  What's  I  been 
praying  for  des  fo'ty  yea's?  Now  chillun,  you's 
in  my  keer.  God  will  help  me  to  take  keer  of 
you.  Does  you  hear  me  talking  to  you?  Keep 
up  your  speerits,  chillun. ' ' 

Our  hearts  were  in  our  throats.  We  could  say 
nothing  and  do  nothing  but  sit  with  our  arms 
around  each  other  and  cry.  Noah  was  dispatched 
to  see  if  the  road  was  clear  and  soon  reported  all 
right.  We  were  then  told  to  climb  out  and  have 
something  to  eat. 

"Why,  bless  us,  what's  we  been  doin. '  You, 
Noah,  get  in  dar  and  help  de  chillun  out.  Wait  a 
minute  fust  till  I  looks  'round." 

She  started  outdoors,  surveyed  the  surround 
ing  premises,  came  back  and  helped  Noah  lift  us 
up  to  the  cabin  floor.  We  had  been  hidden  in  a 
sweet  potato  hole  under  the  cabin  floor,  in  front  of 
the  fire-place,  about  six  feet  square  and  four  deep, 
having  been  carried  into  the  cabin  and  lowered 
into  it  by  Aunt  'Liza  and  Noah,  when  we  dropped 
at  the  door  from  exhaustion  the  night  before.  A 
loose  puncheon  in  the  cabin  floor  formed  a  sort  of 
trap  door  and  was  the  only  entrance  to  the  place. 

"Now,  chillun,  you  must  be  mighty  keerful; 
you's  in  an  awful  plight.  Just  mind  me.  I'se 
your  mudder  now.  Here's  a  little  hoe-cake, 


58  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

honey.  Just  wait  a  minute.  Let's  see  your 
tongue."  Dick  complied  with  the:  demand,  when 
Aunt  'Liza  said,  "Noah,  bring  me  the  'possum 
fat, ' '  and  each  of  us  were  given  a  spoonful. 

Dick  and  I  commenced  looking  at  each  other, 
but  couldn't  talk  much.  Our  ravenous  appetites 
had  strangely  and  suddenly  deserted  us.  Some 
how  we  were  so  full  we  ate  but  little.  Noah  was 
kept  outside  on  watch  and  Aunt  'Liza  was  so  ex- 


Billy  Bates  and  Dick  King  at  Aunt  'Liza's  cabin. 

cited  we  couldn't  keep  our  eyes  off  her,  and  this 
in  turn  frightened  and  excited  us.  When  our 
scanty  meal  was  ended,  Aunt  'Liza  ordered  us 
into  the  hole  under  the  floor  with  the  parting 
admonition:  "Now,  chillun,  jus'  stay  dar  quiet 
till  I  finds  out  how  you  is." 


IN    GOOD    HANDS.  59 

We  slept  sound  all  day.  When  we  waked  up,  a 
streak  of  light  was  shining  through  a  crack  in  the 
floor  and  Aunt  'Liza's  cheery  voice  soon  sum 
moned  us  to  a  supper  of  hoe-cake  and  potatoes. 
That  night  we  ate  ravenously,  but  Aunt  'Liza 
doled  out  our  .allowance  of  food  and  water  and  no 
persuasion  could  get  an  additional  crumb  or  sup. 
After  supper  we  sat  awhile  by  the  fire  and 
answered  innumerable  questions  asked  by  Aunt 
'Liza  and  Noah — told  them  who  we  were,  where 
we  had  been  and  all  about  our  escape  from  Ander- 
sonville.  Noah  said  we  were  forty  miles  south 
west  of  Atlanta;  four  miles  from  Whitesbury, 
Coweta  County,  Georgia;  thirty  miles  from  the 
State  line  of  Alabama;  that  it  was  the  Chatta- 
hoochee  Eiver  that  we  had  just  crossed,  and  that  it 
was  an  awful  ways  to  Tennessee.  He  had  been  to 
Chattanooga  once  to  buy  mules,  but  it  took  him 
a  long  time  to  go  and  come.  Some  rebel  recruit 
ing  and  conscription  officer  had  been  around  a 
few  days  before  and  taken  all  the  men  out  of  the 
country.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  squad  of 
soldiers  and  took  many  by  force.  They  camped 
five  nights  before  in  a  clearing  by  the  river  and 
started  next  morning  for  Atlanta.  Her  old  mas 
ter's  two  boys,  mere  lads  who  had  never  been 
away  from  the  plantation  before,  were  taken 
among  others.  "What  kin  dese  little  boys  do? 
I  tell  you  now,  de  Confederacy's  gettin'  mighty 
skeered.  Dere  's  been  a  big  fight  up  in  Tennessee 
and  de  papers  say  de  Yanks  got  terribly  whip 
ped." 


60  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

* i  What  den  makes  de  Conf eds  so  skeered, ' '  said 
Aunt  'Liza. 

No  master  of  logic  could  have  reasoned  better. 
We  thanked  God  for  her  sturdy  faith. 

"Aunty,  where  is  your  master ?" 

"He's  a  colonel  at  Atlanta,  and  'specks  he'll  be 
a  gineral. ' ' 

"Can  you  get  that  paper  you  tel]   us  about?" 

"Yes.  Go  'way,  don't  tells  me  you  'uns  can 
read?" 

"Yes  we  can,  Aunty.  Get  us  the  paper  that 
tells  about  the  fight." 

So  Noah  was  dispatched  to  the  plantation  to 
get  some  meal,  charged  with  the  mission  of  pur 
loining  or  stealing  the  newspaper.  He  returned 
late  in  the  afternoon  with  only  a  part  of  the  news 
paper.  But  this  portion  contained  a  war  map 
showing  the  position  of  rebel  troops,  fortifica 
tions  and  line  of  railroad  from  Bridgeport  to 
Atlanta,  which  afterwards  proved  of  great  service 
to  us  on  our  way  northward. 

"Aunty,  how  long  have  you  lived  here,"  said  I. 

"Lor'  bless  you,  chillun,  I'se  always  lived 
here." 

"Are  you  a  slave?" 

"No,  I'se  a  free  woman,  and  Noah's  a  free  man. 
Ole  massa  had  three  hundred  slaves  and  they'se 
all  gone  to  make  forts  at  Atlanta,  but  jus'  de  ole 
man  and  woman  at  de  plantation.  Dis  lot  is  mine. 
I  got  my  freedom  and  Noah's  nussin'  and  doctor- 
in'  de  sick  folks  todder  side  de  ribber.  No 
Yankee  soldiers  has  got  here  yit.  Dem  Unionists 
we  was  talkin'  about  was  de  men  de  Conf  eds  was 


RETURNING  NORTH.  61 

huntin',  'cause  dey  'spected  dey's  run  away  to  de 
Union  lines.  De  kurnel  wanted  'em  to  go  with 
him,  but  dey  wouldn't.  Dey  was  goin'  to  de 
Yanks  de  fus  chance  dey  got.  When  de  captain 
was  heali  last  week  he  hung  two  men  on  dat  big 
tree  you  see  down  dar,  'cause  dey  wouldn't  go  to 
Atlanta  but  tried  to  run  away. ' ' 

We  remained  at  Aunt  'Liza's  eight  days.  On 
the  evening  of  the  sixth  day  Dick  and  I  were  in 
the  hole  as  usual  when  we  heard  horsemen  ap 
proaching.  Aunt  ,'Liza  warned  us  not  to  breathe. 
Jn  a  few  minutes  there  was  a  " hello"  at  the  door. 
Noah  answered  the  summons  by  asking  who  was 
there. 

"We  want  to  see  Aunt  'Liza." 

She  hobbled  to  the  door  as  if  in  great  pain, 
saying,  "Bress  my  soul,  what  you  want?  Doesn't 
ye  know  I'se  powerful  sick!" 

They  were  hunting  a  man  who  had  escaped  on 
the  way  to  Atlanta,  and  wanted  to  know  if  any 
body  had  been  around  the  place.  She  declared  no 
stranger  had  been  around  there  since  they  hung 
the  two  men  on  the  big  tree.  They  rode  away 
leaving  strict  orders  that  if  she  saw  anyone  pass 
ing  to  send  word  to  the  plantation,  where  they 
expected  to  remain  a  couple  of  days.  After  they 
departed  she  cautioned  Noah  "'bout  seein'  too 
much.  Folks  wan't  bleeged  to  see  everything  in 
the  world  for  someone  else,  for  if  you  does  see 
something,  you  needn't  know  who  'tis.  We  has  to 
take  keer  of  dese  chillun  in  de  hole.  Dey's  our 
chillun;  do  you  hear  me,  Noah!" 

As  the  captain  rode  away  he   said  he  would 


62  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

return  next  day  and  make  further  inquiries.  This 
became  alarming.  Our  chances  for  escaping  un 
observed  were  lessened  by  his  stay  in  the  neigh 
borhood,  and  we  were  not  allowed  to  come  out  of 
the  hole  that  day.  The  captain  rode  by  next  day 
as  he  promised,  made  some  inquiries  and  passed 
on.  Noah  went  to  the  plantation  to  spy  out  the 
land  for  us,  and  returned  with  the  news  thait  the 
captain  and  his  men  had  gone  and  that  there  was 
no  longer  any  danger  from  that  quarter. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


Challenged  by  a  Union  Sentinel. 


W 


E  SPENT  that  day  in  planning  our  route 
of    escape,    for    it    was    decided    that    we 

should  start  on  our  way  that  night.      Aunt 

''Liza  baked  a  large  quantity  of  hoe-cakes  and 
potatoes,  and  made  a  coarse  sack  for  us 
to  carry  provisions,  suspended  by  a  rope  like 
a  haversack.  She  also  made  up  a  quan 
tity  of  salve,  composed  of  lard,  rosin,  red 
pepper,  asafetida  and  catnip,  for  our  feet, 
for  the  double  purpose  of  relieving  their 
soreness  and  for  destroying  the  scent  of  the 
hounds,  should  we  be  again  pursued  by  them. 
She  declared  its  composition  to  be  a  secret  known 
to  only  a  few  colored  people  in  the  whole  section 
of  the  country,  and  pledged  us  solemnly  to  pre 
serve  her  secret.  She  assured  us  that  if  our  feet 


CHALLENGE  BY  SENTINEL.  63 

were  occasionally  anointed  with  new  salve  no 
hound  could  follow  our  trail,  and  that  we  would 
be  absolutely  free  from  that  danger.  We  had  no 
means  of  testing  its  efficacy  in  that  particular. 
The  good  old  soul  loaded  us  down  witli  hoe-cakes 
and  motherly  advice.  By  the  force  of  that  divine 
law  implanted  in  the  souls  of  all  human  beings, 
which  causes  their  love  and  providing  care  to  go 
out  in  full  measure  toward  every  creature  which 
is  absolutely  dependent  upon  them,  Aunt  'Liza's 
maternal  instinct  had  become  her  dominant  pas 
sion,  and  she  would  have  gone  to  the  stake  or  have 
been  torn  to  pieces  with  red-hot  pincers  in  defense 
of  "dese  chillun,"  as  dear  to  her  at  that  time  as 
her  own  flesh  and  blood.  She  parted  from  us  in 
grief  and  tears — called  us  back  many  times  for 
an  additional  word  of  warning,  advice  and  bless 
ing,  and  our  last  glimpse  of  her  was  in  silhouette, 
as  her  bent  form  went  into  her  cabin  with  its  fire 
light  beyond  her  and  the  darkness  of  night  envel 
oping  everything  outside. 

When  I  think  of  the  tender  heart  and  royal  soul 
of  this  poor,  downtrodden  black  woman  of  the 
South,  language  fails  to  express  how  much  I  owe 
her.  I  should  be  an  ingrate  if  I  did  not  make  con 
fession,  and  in  that  future  to  which  all  are  so 
rapidly  tending,  I  know  she  will  be  among  the 
glorified  saints  who  come  up  through  tribulation 
to  stand  in  the  presence  of  God.  Dear  old  Aunty, 
farewell,  farewell. 

Noah  went  with  us  to  the  bridge  across  the 
river,  piloted  us  safely  into  the  woods  beyond  it, 
repeated  his  oft-told  instructions  as  to  roads  and 


C4  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

routes,  wlien  he  too  had  to  shake  hands  and  leave 
us  to  pursue  our  wanderings  alone  toward  the 
blessed  land  of  freedom  lying  northward.  The 
parting  with  Aunt  'Liza  and  Noah  depressed  us 
greatly.  It  severed  the  last  link  between  our 
selves  and  our  protectors,  and  I  feel  it  no  shame 
to  say  that  Dick  and  I  sat  down  and  cried  like 
children.  But  this  did  not  last  long.  The  excite 
ment  soon  possessed  us  again  and  we  started  on 
rapidly.  In  pursuance  of  our  old  plan  we  lay  in 
the  woods  and  thickets  by  daylight,  and  traveled 
rapidly  by  night.  We  at  first  ate  sparingly  of 
our  provisions,  but  as  we  found  the  character  of 
the  country  rapidly  changing  for  the  better,  and 
cornfields  and  potato  patches  more  frequent,  we 
indulged  our  appetites  more  and  more.  One  day 
while  in  hiding  we  heard  church  bells  ringing  for 
the  first  time  in  over  two  years.  That  evening  we 
saw  a  darkey  trying  to  catch  a  mule  in  a  pasture,, 
but  decided  not  to  trust  him.  At  night  there  came 
a  pouring  rain,  so  we  travelled  all  night  along  a 
main  road,  in  the  storm.  We  passed  through  a 
village  without  seeing  a  human  being  and  the 
morning  brought  us  in  sight  of  mountains.  We 
also  found  a  pen  of  white  corn  and  replenished 
our  rations.  On  one  occasion  we  were  disturbed 
by  dogs,  but  as  they  were  only  common  country 
curs  we  were  not  greatly  alarmed  and  soon  passed 
out  of  their  bailiwick.  We  camped  in  a  huckle 
berry  swamp  on  a  foot  range  of  the  mountains  not 
far  from  Big  Shanty,  as  we  afterwards  supposed, 
and  at  night  followed  a  railroad  track  till  day- 


IN   UNION   CAMP.  65 

light.  Walking  over  the  ties  was  hard  on  our 
unshod  feet. 

The  next  day  while  lying  in  the  brush  we  saw 
one  or  two  trains  pass — the  first  we  had  seen  since 
leaving  Andersonville.  The  next  night's  trail 
led  through  an  agricultural  country.  Corn  and 
sweet  potatoes  were  plenty.  We  found  some  Irish 
potatoes  dropped  in  furrows  for  planting  and  yet 
uncovered.  Some  of  these  paid  tribute  to  our 
voracious  appetites.  That  night  we  heard  the 
booming  of  the  cannon  to  the  right,  so  we  bore 
westward  a  trifle  more  and  met  with  no  hindrance 
of  any  kind.  During  the  following  day  we  fre 
quently  saw  white  people  passing,  and  heard 
much  noise  and  shooting  to  the  eastward.  But  we 
lay  quiet  nearly  all  day  among  the  rocks  and 
gulches.  At  night  we  pursued  our  way  cautiously 
till  nearly  daylight,  when  increased  noise  and  the 
braying  of  mules  frightened  us  into  hiding.  It 
was  cle>ar  we  were  in  the  vicinity  of  an  army, 
but  whether  they  were  friends  or  enemies  we 
could  not  yet  decide. 

Excitement  ran  high  with  us  that  day.  If  these 
were  Union  troops  our  hardships  and  dangers 
were  nearly  ended.  But  if,  on  the  contrary,  it  was 
a  Confederate  army  we  had  run  into  a  sack  from 
which  escape  would  be  doubly  difficult  and 
dangerous.  There  was  no  course  for  us  to  pursue 
but  that  of  masterly  inactivity.  We  must  watch 
and  wait. 

That  night  we  came  to  woods  where  the  trees 
had  all  been  felled.  The  ground  was  covered  with 
chips  and  blocks  and  some  hewed  timber  lay 


66  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

around.  Passing  around  this  we  came  to  an  un- 
fenced  cornfield  with  w^oods  beyond.  We  pro 
ceeded  with  great  caution  till  brought  to  a  stand 
still  by  seeing  a  light  ahead.  We  lay  down  for  a 
time  and  discussed  the  probabilities  in  whispers. 
Our  decision  was  to  advance  carefully  towards  the 
light  and  try  t'o  learn  something  by  observation. 
So  we  crawled  along  between  the  old  corn  rows 
hugging  the  ground  as  closely  as  possible  for 
quite  a  distance.  In  one  of  our  advances  we  got 
on  some  dry  cornstalks  which  snapped  with  a 
loud  noise,  and  the  word  "Halt!"  rang  on  our 
ears  like  a  clap  of  thunder.  We  were  nearly 
stunned  with  fright  and  lay  still  as  death  for 
some  minute's.  On  attempting  to  move  again, 
the  cornstalks  began  to  crack,  and  again  came 
the  startling  command,  ' i  Halt ! "  This  time  we 
perceived  a  dark  form  in  the  distance  and  rightly 
concluded  that  we  had  crawled  within  range  of 
some  advanced  picket.  Was  he  friend  or  foe? 
We  whispered  a  few  words  in  our  great  extremity, 
decided  we  could  do  nothing  better  than  to  re 
spond  to  his  challenge.  We  might  be  able  to 
discover  what  army  he  belonged  to  at  a  glance, 
and  by  making  a  dash  in  the  dark  might  possibly 
escape  if  he  proved  to  be  an  enemy.  So  we  both 
rose  to  our  feet.  "Who  comes  there!"  rang  out 
again.  We  saw  the  glimmer  of  brass  buttons  on 
the  sentry's  clothing,  heard  the  click  of  his 
musket  as  he  brought  it  to  a  full  cock,  and  with  a 
feeling  amounting  almost  to  a  certainty  (based 
upon  his  speech  and  actions)  that  .he  belonged  to 


v    THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


GIVING  UP,   BUT   SAFE.  67 

the  Federal  army,  replied:  "A  friend  without 
the  countersign." 

"Advance  friend.     Who  are  you?" 

We  now  recognized  the  uniform  and  replied, 
t '  We  are  Union  prisoners  escaped  from  Anderson- 
ville." 

The  soldier,  who  proved  to  be  Simeon  Collins, 
Company  D,  Seventh  Illinois  Infantry,  called  for 
the  corporal  of  the  guard,  who  came  in  a  hurry 
with  a  squad  of  men. 

By  this  time  nature  had  given  way  again.  The 
sudden  transition  was  too  much  for  our  poor,  en 
feebled  bodies,  and  we  tumbled  down  limp  as 
babies.  But  strong  hands  took  hold  of  us,  strong 
arms  were  put  under  us,  and  we  were  speed 
ily  borne  back  to  the  campfire  in  the  edge 
of  the  woods,  which  first  attracted  our  atten 
tion.  Some  hot  coffee  and  a  little  hardtack  soon 
revived  us,  and  the  questioning  began  and  was 
kept  up  for  two  hours.  Dick  and  I  replied  alter 
nately  as  each  became  exhausted. 

We  escaped  from  Andersonville  on  March  2d 
and  this  was  March  28th,  and  we  were  near 
Bridgeport,  Alabama. 


68  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 


At  General  Sherman's    Headquarters. 


[E  REMAINED  at  the  post  all  night.  When 
the  officer  of  the  guard  came  around  in  the 
morning,  he  sent  for  an  ambulance  and  took 
us  to  General  McQuiston's  headquarters,  towards 
Stevenson.  We  desired  to  see  General  Sherman,  so 
McQuiston  sent  us  back  to  General  Ruger's  head 
quarters,  near  Lookout  Mountain,  to  whose  com 
mand  the  Seventh  Illinois  belonged.  General  Ruger 
detailed  Collins  to  guard  and  transport  us  to  Gen 
eral  Sherman,  who  was  then  near  Cleveland  Junc 
tion  on  an  inspection  tour  of  his  three  army  corps, 
extending  from  Huntsville  to  Knoxville. 

This  intervening  time  seems  like  a  dream.  We 
were  more  dead  than  alive,  from  starvation,  and 
exposure,  and  could  only  lie  still  and  eat  and 
sleep.  Food  was  given  to  us  carefully  and  as 
much  freedom  from  excitement  secured  as  pos 
sible  under  the  circumstances.  But  thei  train  made 
long  and  frequent  stoppages  and  we  were  con 
scious  of  a  pressing  and  excited  throng  of  officers 
and  men  hovering  about  us  continually.  They 
would  stand  and  gaze  at  us  awhile  in  dumb  ex 
citement,  then  burst  into  volleys  of  oaths  and 
imprecations  against  the  Southern  Confederacy 
and  the  leaders  in  the  rebellion,  and  pass  on  in 
tears  to  make  place  for  the  throngs  which  surged 
behind  them. 

At  Cleveland  Junction  we  were  taken  by  am- 


AT  SHERMAN'S  HEADQUARTERS.  69 

bulance  to  General  Sherman's.  As  Collins,  our 
guard,  lifted  me  out  of  the  ambulance,  I  saw  the 
great  Union  General  on  a  campstool  in  front  of 
his  tent.  Campstools  were  brought  out  for  us 
and  we  were  placed  in  his  presence,  but  seeing  our 
weakness  we  were  soon  stretched  on  a  couple  of 
cots.  Then  began  the  usual  round  of  questions  by 
General  Sherman  himself,  in  his  peculiar,  quick 
and  nervous  manner.  Dick  and  I  answered  him 
as  fully  as  possible  and  gave  a  detailed  account 
of  our  capture,  imprisonment  and  escape,  down 
to  our  final  appearance  in  front  of  General  Rugerr's 
pickets  near  Bridgeport,  and  after  that  Collins 
became  our  spokesman  and  told  him  of  carrying  us 
within  the  lines  and  bringing  us  to  his  headquar 
ters  by  order  of  General  McQuiston. 
•  I  don't  know  how  to  describe  General  Sherman's 
appearance  during  the  recital  of  our  pitiful  tale. 
He  seemed  in  an  abstracted  mood  at  first,  but  as 
the  narrative  progressed  he  showed  more  interest 
and  occasionally  interrupted  us  by  asking  a  ques 
tion.  Later  on  he  leaned  forward  and  listened 
intently  and  eagerly,  as  though  he  feared  he 
should  lose  or  forget  some  part  of  the  story. 
Towards  the  close  his  face  was  flushed  with  ex 
citement  and  anger,  the  veins  on  his  forehead 
were  swollen  and  his  whole  nervous  organization 
was  strung  to  its  highest  tension. 

The  staff  surgeon  was  directed  to  take  us  in 
charge  and  see  that  we  had  all  needful  medical 
attention.  Everybody  seemed  to  be  crowding 
about,  and  officers  from  the  surrounding  vicinity 
came  swarming  by  scores  to  see  for  themselves 


70  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

the  reality  of  Andersonville  prison.  But  little 
was  said  for  a  few  minutes,  but  the  clenched 
fists  and  glassy  eyes  outran  all  speech,  and  occa 
sionally  the  muttering  would  break  into  a 
tempest  of  execration.  General  Sherman  was  not 
ready  to  part  with  us  yet.  He  walked  into  his  tent 
for  a  few  minutes,  apart  from  every  one  else,  as  if 
collecting  his  thoughts  before  deciding  what 
should  be  done  with  us,  and  presently  came  out 
where  we  were  stretched  on  our  cots,  and  began 
to  talk  very  calmly,  for  him,  in  a  soothing,  reas 
suring  tone. 

"I'm  glad  you  escaped,  boys,  glad  you  escaped. 
That's  the  kind  of  grit  that  brings  men  through. 
Don't  think  of  giving  up.  Never  say  die.  Don't 
you  be  alarmed;  you  shall  be  taken  care  of.  The 
grit  and  nerve  that  has  brought  you  thus  far  will 
see  you  clear  through,  easy  enough,  if  you  only 
resolve  to  live. 

He  then  asked  if  there  was  anything  he  could 
do  for  us. 

"I  should  like  to  live  long  enough  to  see  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  and  then  go  home  and  die, ' '  was  my 
answer. 

General  Sherman  caught  at  this  remark  as  one 
that  had  been  uppermost  in  own  mind,  and  said 
quickly,  "You  shall,  you  shall;  Lincoln  shall  see 
you  just  as  you  are.  Cheer  up,  boys;  cheer  up. 
You  shall  be  sent  to  Washington.  You  shall  see 
the  President.  And  now  I  have  a  favor  to  ask  of 
you.  I  want  you  to  take  especial  care  to  tell  your 
story  to  President  Lincoln  precisely  as  you  told 
it  to  me.  Don't  try  to  study  up  something  to  say. 


AT  SHERMAN'S  HEADQUARTERS.  71 

Stand  up  before  him  and  don't  be  afraid.  Talk 
to  him  just  as  you  talked  to  me  and  tell  him  the 
plain  story  of  your  imprisonment,  your  starvation 
and  your  escape.  Your  condition  and  appearance 
will  vouch  for  its  truth;  but  I  want  it  told  from 
your  own  mouth,  just  as  you  told  it  to  me — I  will 
get  at  that  hell-hole  yet,  and  when  I  do— 

His  whole  frame  dilated  and  his  stature  seemed 
increased  by  inches  as  he  looked  around  on  all 
assembled,  and  without  another  word  strode 
away  with  the  fiery  impetus  of  some  fabled  god  of 
antiquity. 

The  surgeon  advised  that  we  be  sent  directly 
home  and  used  all  the  argument  at  his  command. 
Our  condition  was  such  that  mental  excitement 
would  kill  us.  Our  diet  for  a  long  time  must  be 
beef  tea,  milk  and  the  simplest  forms  of  food,  in 
small  quantities.  We  needed  tender  nursing. 
Our  restoration  must  be  conducted  slowly  or  we 
would  never  recover.  But  General  Sherman's 
mind  was  made  up.  Collins  was  detailed  from 
his  command,  given  written  orders  to  take  us 
under  guard  to  Washington  City  and  directed  to 
present  us  in  person  to  President  Lincoln  without 
the  slightest  change  of  clothing  and  as  near  in  our 
then  condition  as  was  possible  under  the  circum 
stances. 

This  was  a  great  surprise  to  us.  We  had  not 
expected  so  much  attention  from  General  Sher 
man,  nor  such  interest  in  our  story.  We  were 
not  fit  to  be  presented  to  anyone  except  upon 
urgent  necessity,  much  less  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  We  were  ragged,  filthy,  covered 


72  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

with  vermin,  without  hats,  caps,  shoes  or  a  vestige 
of  any  kind  of  clothing  except  the  rags  remain 
ing  from  the  shirt  and  pants  we  had  on  when 
captured  sixteen  months  before,  and  were  now 
to  be  sent  to  the  President  under  guard,  un 
washed,  uncombed,  unclothed  and  covered  with 
sores. 

As  soon  as  the  General  left  us,  Dick  commenced : 

" Billy,  shall  we  ever  get  home?''* 

"We  mustn't  think  of  home,  Dick,  or  we'll  cer 
tainly  never  get  there  alive.  We  must  make  up 
our  minds  to  face  the  music." 

"Well,  Billy,  I  think  they  might  give  us  some 
thing  to  eat.  Just  look  at  the  goodies  in  that 
tent." 

"Yes,  but  the  surgeon  has  given  his  orders, 
Dick.  We  must  think  of  something  else.  We 
should  certainly  kill  ourselves  eating  if  we  were 
turned  loose  in  that  tent. ' ' 

"Well,  Billy,  I  guess  we  are  in  for  it  again. 
But  I  wish  the  boys  wouldn't  talk  to  us  so  much. 
I'm  worn  out,  and  want  to  hide  myself  awhile." 


CHAPTER  IX. 


On  to  Washington. 

GUARD    soon    returned    with    written 
orders  and  said  he  was  ready  to  go.    Gen 
eral  Sherman  came  and  shook  hands  with 
as  as  we  were  leaving,  telling  us  to  keep  up  our 


ON  TO  WASHINGTON.  73 

courage,  that  everything  possible  should  be  done 
for  our  comfort,  and  when  we  reached  Washing 
ton  we  could  tell  the  President  that  his  army  was 
headed  for  Andersonville  and  would  never  halt 
while  that  hell-hole  was  in  existence. 

Our  feet  were  so  sore  we  could  neither  walk 
nor  stand  while  waiting  for  the  train,  but  the  boys 
carried  us  aboard  the  cars  and  fixed  us  comfort 
ably  on  boards  laid  across  the  backs  of  the  seats. 
We  slept  soundly  until  wakened  by  the  faithful 
Collins  to  receive  our  ration  of  beef  tea.  We 
greatly  needed  rest  and  desired  to  be  alone;  but 
the  news  spread  that  we  were  prisoners  escaped 
from  Andersonville  and  the  crowd  besieged  us 
continually  until  Collins  finally  took  the  matter 
in  hand  and  kept  us  as  quiet  as  possible. 

A  long,  wearisome  ride  brought  us  to  a  station 
below  Murfreesborough,  where  the  train  was  side 
tracked  and  lay  all  night  expecting  an  attack  from 
a  gang  of  bushwhackers  who  had  torn  up  the 
road.  Our  train  was  guarded  by  a  detachment 
of  soldiers  and  the  doors  were  barricaded  with 
bales  of  hay,  some  of  the  detachment  lying  on 
their  arms  while  others  occupied  a  small  block 
house  not  far  away.  The  next  forenoon  the  bush 
whackers  drove  in  the  Union  pickets,  rode  up  to 
the  outskirts  of  the  village  and  opened  the  attack. 
Finding  the  train  well  defended  they  soon  with 
drew  to  the  hills,  leaving  four  horses  and  eleven 
dead  men  behind. 

But  little  damage  had  been  done  the  track  and 
we  reached  headquarters  safely  that  evening. 
Here  a  surgeon  was  called  in  to  prescribe  for  us. 


74  BILLY   AND   DICK. 

He  found  us  nearly  helpless  from  stomach  trouble. 
A  cordial  was  given  us  and  an  additional  man  de 
tailed  to  assist  Collins  in  getting  us  to  Nashville. 

Arrived  at  Nashville  we  were  very  weak  and 
became  almost  unconscious;  but  we  realized  that 
a  quarrel  was  going  on  between  our  guard  and  a 
surgeon.  The  latter  insisted  on  taking  us  to  a 
hospital  but  Collins  was  not  to  be  interfered  with, 
and  procuring  some  extra  blankets  he  made  us 
beds  on  the  floor  of  the  depot  until  we  were  again 
taken  aboard  the  train  for  Louisville. 

While  in  the  depot  a  motherly  old  lady  was  con 
stantly  by  our  side.  She  was  the  first  woman  who 
had  ministered  to  us  since  we  parted  from  Aunt 
'Liza.  She  got  a  basin  of  water  and  wanted  to 
wash  our  hands  and  faces  but  was  informed  that 
it  was  contrary  to  the  orders  of  General  Sherman. 
She  was  not  allowed  to  do  much  for  us  but  could 
not  be  prevented  from  freely  speaking  her  mind 
about  our  condition.  We  learned  that  she  was 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Moore,  of  Preston,  Fillmore 
County,  Minnesota — that  she  had  come  to  Nash 
ville  to  nurse  one  of  her  sons  who  was  in  the 
hospital  there — that  he  had  died  in  her  arms  and 
she  was  now  on  her  way  home  with  his  body- 
that  her  husband  had  been  killed  at  Corinth,  and 
that  her  younger  and  only  remaining  son  was  in 
the  army  with  Sherman. 

She  said  to  us :  "  Boys,  you  may  be  sure  George 
will  never  be  taken  alive.  My  last  words  to  him 
were:  'George,  never  turn  your  back  to  the 
enemy.'  He  will  come  home  to  me  yet." 

"Talk  to  me  about  loyalty,  about  blood,"  said 


ON    TO    WASHINGTON.  75 

Dick,  in  his  admiration  of  this  heroic  woman, 
"she  is  not  made  of  the  same  clay  as  the  woman 
who  spit  in  the  face  of  poor,  starving,  dying 
Chaplain  Hathaway. ' ' 

Mrs.  Moore  accompanied  us  as  far  as  Louis 
ville  and  was  constant  in  her  kind  attentions, 
giving  us  our  beef  tea  and  medicine  with  pre 
scribed  regularity. 

At  Munfordsville,  Kentucky,  another  surgeon, 
seeing  our  condition,  insisted  that  we  should  be 
taken  from  the  train  for  a  day's  rest,  but  Collins 
objected  and  we  began  to  feel  that  we  could 
stand  the  trip  without  delaying.  Mrs.  Moore 
took  us  in  hand  and  asserted  the  prerogatives  of 
a  nurse  and  drove  away  all  curious,  idle  ques 
tioners.  Sleep — beef  tea — sleep  again  seemed 
hourly  recurrences. 

At  Munfordsville  we  met  a  trainload  of  ex 
changed  rebel  prisoners  from  Bock  Island  on 
their  way  southward.  They  were  healthy,  fleshy 
and  well  clothed.  Some  of  them  were  brought 
to  see  us,  that  they  might  realize  the  difference 
between  the  treatment  at  Northern  and  Southern 
prisons.  They  spoke  out  like  men  and  cursed 
those  who  had  treated  us  in  such  an  inhuman  man 
ner,  in  hearty  Southern  fashion. 

At  Louisville  we  were  driven  to  the  soldiers' 
home  for  accommodations  for  the  night,  but  those 
in  authority  objected  to  receiving  us  in  such  an 
informal  manner.  Not  to  put  too  fine  a  point 
upon  it,  they  thought  we  were  too  vermin-ridden 
to  lodge  within  their  dainty  walls,  and  by  far  too 
filthy  for  their  immaculate  sheets.  But  Collins 


76  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

was  armed  for  the  fray  and  flaunted  General 
Sherman's  orders  right  and  left,  until  he  came 
out  ahead,  as  usual.  It  ended  in  the  superintend 
ent  carrying  me. to  my  room  in  his  own  arms. 
But  the  room  was  soon  swarming  with  officers 
and  privates  anxious  to  hear  from  friends  and 
relatives  and  but  little  rest  was  obtained  that 
night. 

In  the  morning  we  were  carried  on  board  a 
steamer  bound  for  Cincinnati.  Mrs.  Moore  came 
aboard  to  say  farewell  and  the  good  advice  which 
she  gave  us  would  alone  fill  a  fair-sized  book. 
We  parted  from  her  with  sincere  regret.  "She 
hath  done  what  she  could"  will  be  proclaimed  by 
the  recording  angel  at  the  resurrection  of  the 
quick  and  the  dead. 

After  being  placed  in  as  good  quarters  as  could 
be  found  for  us  at  that  time,  with  extra  blankets 
for  beds,  we  sank  down  and  tried  to  be  contented 
with  our  lot.  The  cold,  disagreeable  weather  be 
gan  to  tell  against  us.  Our  minds  had  also  been 
worked  up  to  such  a  pitch  by  our  parting  with 
Mrs.  Moore  that  we  could  not  settle  down  to  sleep. 
The  good  woman's  face  seemed  as  visible  before 
our  closed  eyes  as  it  ever  did  when  they  were 
open.  Her  kind  words  rang  in  our  ears  con 
tinually  until  supplanted  by  the  noise  of  the  boat's 
machinery. 

The  captain  of  the  vessel  soon  came  to  see  about 
our  transportation  and  was  referred  to  our  guard. 
Collins  told  him  that  he  wanted  to  keep  us  as 
quiet  as  possible.  As  the  weather  was  fair  he 
thought  us  about  as  comfortable  hidden  away  in 


MANY   FRIENDS.  77 

one  corner  of  the  deck  as  we  would  be  anywhere 
else,  but  the  captain  seemed  dissatisfied.  He 
looked  at  us  in  silence  for  a  few  minutes  and 
walked  aw^ay.  But  he  soon  returned  and  had 
Collins  carry  us  into  an  elegant  stateroom  which 
he  had  hastily  prepared  for  us  by  spreading  a 
good  bed  on  the  floor.  He  was  a  very  nervous 
man  and  could  not  bear  to  see  us  suffering  from 
filth  and  vermin  and  sworn  that  neither  General 
Sherman  nor  any  other  man  should  treat  passen 
gers  so  inhumanly  while  he  was  running  that  boat. 
He  was  determined  to  have  us  put  into  bathtubs, 
washed  and  barbered,  and  said  we  should  be 
dressed  in  decent  clothing  if  he  had  to  give  us  his 
own  right  there. 

So  Collins  had  to  go  over  the  whole  ground 
again  and  beg  the  captain  not  to  compel  a  viola 
tion  of  General  Sherman's  orders.  The  reason  for 
transporting  us  in  this  condition  to  the  President 
was  a  good  and  sufficient  one.  We  were  able  to 
endure  our  journey  in  our  present  condition  and 
one  object  lesson  such  as  we  afforded  would  do 
more  to  inflame  the  hearts  of  rulers  and  people 
and  bring  the  war  to  a  close  than  all  the  stump 
speeches  that  had  been  made  since  it  commenced ; 
Collins  also  paraded  his  orders  from  General 
Sherman  until  Captain  Winters  reluctantly  con 
sented  to  leave  us  as  we  were. 

Gentlemen  and  ladies  also  began  to  call  at 
our  stateroom  to  see  us  and  talk  with  us.  They 
were  generally  so  well  dressed  and  so  stylish 
that  we  were  greatly  ashamed  of  ourselves  and 
heartily  wished  they  could  be  kept  away.  All 


78  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

asked  the  same  questions,  expressed  the  same 
opinions  and  wanted  to  have  us  washed  and 
dressed.  Collins  was  driven  into  constant  ob 
stinacy. 

"Billy,"  said  Dick,  "what  makes  people  such 
fools?  Why  can't  they  let  us  alone?" 

We  were  given  an  opiate  and  the  crowds 
driven  away,  that  we  might  obtain  a  little  sleep. 

Later  on  we  talked  over  the  situation  as  coolly 
as  possible,  and  concluded  to  stand  the  racket 
if  we  possibly  could.  We  began  to  pity  Collins. 
He  scarcely  got  any  rest,  day  or  night,  and  we 
were  afraid  he  would  break  down  before  we  got 
to  the  end  of  our  journey. 

Another  trouble  had  arisen  to  destroy  Dick's 
peace  of  mind.  He  had  learned  that  our  probable 
route  lay  through  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania, 
"Billy,  that's  my  home.  How  can  we  manage  so 
that  mother  will  not  find  us  out?  That  point  dis 
tresses  me  terribly.  If  mother  was  to  learn  that 
I  was  on  a  passing  train,  Sherman's  whole  army 
could  not  get  me  through  that  town  nor  take  me 
away  from  her  again.  What  shall  we  do,  Billy; 
what  shall  we  do  ?  " 

I  suggested  that  we  might  take  a  lay  off  and  go 
by  another  route. 

"But  Billy,  what's  the  use  of  taking  us  dirty, 
ragged  fellows  to  President  Lincoln?  He  won't 
so  much  as  look  at  us." 

"Dick,  don't  talk  that  way.  All  we  ever  heard 
of  Old  Abe  proved  him  to  be  a  "tender-hearted 
man.  Sherman  has  some  plan  in  sending  us,  and 
it  will  pay  us  to  try  to  live  it  out.  The  only 


IN  KIND  HANDS.  79 

thing  I  am  afraid  of  is  that  we  shall  break  down 
and  not  be  able  to  tell  him  our  story  as  Greneral 
Sherman  directed.  We  must  brace  up,  old  fellow, 
and  not  be  ashamed.  It  is  not  our  fault  that  we 
are  ragged  and  filthy.  If  we  are  sent  in  this  con 
dition  people  can  see  how  the  boys  in  Anderson- 
ville  are  clothed  and  fed.  We  can  stand  it  awhile 
longer.  We  can  represent  the  facts  as  they  are, 
and  if  we  talked  about  it  to  the  day  of  our  death 
we  could  never  tell  it  all.  We  mustn't  think  of 
home  yet.  We'll  get  through  Harrisburg  some 
how." 

We  stayed  twenty-four  hours  in  the  soldiers' 
home  at  Cincinnati.  Collins  secreted  us  as  much 
as  possible  and  we  had  a  fair  night's  rest.  In  the 
morning  we  wrere  driven  to  the  depot  and  Collins 
soon  had  a  bed  prepared.  But  crowds  collected  to 
look  at  us — wanted  to  know  who  we  were,  where 
we  were  going,  and  why  we  were  allowed  to  re 
main  in  such  a  horrible  condition.  Poor  Collins' 
tribulations  commenced  anew.  To  show  churlish 
ness  and  refuse  answers  would  insure  his  being 
pitched  off  the  train  with  a  broken  head.  So  he 
had  to  tell  his  story  for  the  hundredth  time,  but 
that  would  scarcely  suffice. 

"Boys,  what  State  are  you  from?"  said  a 
gentleman  standing  near  me. 

"From  Ohio,  the  best  State  in  the  Union,"  was 
my  feeble  reply. 

"What,  are  you  one  of  our  boys?" 

' '  Yes,  sir.    I  belong  to  Troop  H,  Ninth  Cavalry. ' ' 

"My  goodness,  they  are  not  taking  you  to 
Washington  in  that  plight,  are  they!" 


80  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

"Yes,  sir,"  we  replied,  "by  General  Sherman's 
personal  and  positive  orders." 

"Ah,  yes,  I  begin  to  see  it  now,  but  by  the 
BternaJ,  these  boys  must  have  some  clothes.  Are 
Ohio  men  such  beggars  as  to  allow  an  Ohio  sol 
dier  boy  to  go  in  such  rags  as  these?  These  boys 
shall  be  taken  from  the  train  before  it  starts. 
They  shall  be  cleaned  and  clothed  at  my  expense 
before  they  can  go  a  mile  further.  Where's  your 
home  ? ' ' 

""Mansfield,  Eichland  County,  Ohio.  But, 
captain,  please  keep  still  for  our  sake,  please  do. 
We  have  to  go.  You  can't  help  it.  Sherman's 
orders  must  be  obeyed  and  Collins  is  bound  to 
enforce  them.  We  are  nearly  tired  to  death.  If 
yoir  want  to  do  anything  for  us,  keep  these  people 
away,  so  they  cannot  talk  us  to  death.  That  is 
all  we  ask  of  you." 

"Boys,  it  can't  be  helped.  I  must  have  answers 
to  a  few  questions.  I  must  know  your  names; 
where  you  are  from,  and  how  you  got  away." 

"But  hold  on,  captain,  we  don't  want  our  folks 
to  know  we  are  coming  home  just  yet." 

"Yes,  but  boys,  you  may  never  get  home." 

i  1 0  yes,  we  will.  We  're  not  going  to  die  on  the 
way  there,  after  all  we  have  gone  through.  No, 
no." 

"Wait  a  minute,  boys,  I  want  to  see  a  man  in 
the  back  car." 

He  returned  in  a  few  minutes  with  an  elderly 
gentleman  whom  he  introduced  as  Doctor  George 
Ross,  of  Xenia,  Ohio,  telling  him  to  see  if  we 
needed  medical  attention. 


TOO   MANY   FRIENDS.  81 

Doctor  Boss  looked  at  us  a  few  minutes  without 
saying  a  word.  After  an  examination  he  said  we 
were  living  on  excitement  and  must  have  rest. 

"Boys,  I'll  see  you  through.  You  must  have 
extra  care.  You  shall  have  it.  It  would  be  a 
shame  for  an  Ohio  boy  to  make  this  trip  without 
a  medical  attendant,  so  I  will  go  myself.  You 
must  have  a  little  brandy  and  milk." 

The  more  the  matter  came  to  be  understood 
the  greater  became  the  excitement,  and  it  was  with 
extreme  difficulty  that  people  could  be  prevented 
from  taking  forcible  possession  of  us  and  putting 
us  in  better  condition. 

At  Xenia,  the  home  of  Doctor  Eoss,  the  crowd 
was  immense,  and  the  rush  and  press  to  * '  see  the 
prisoners"  and  question  us  about  Andersonville 
was  overwhelming.  Sufficient  provisions  to  feed 
a  company  were  showered  upon  us.  The  good 
ladies  were  * '  sure  they  could  eat  something, ? '  and 
were  free  with  their  complaints  to  the  doctor 
because  he  had  not  telegraphed  sooner,  etc.  We 
could  make  little  or  no  reply,  but  lay  quietly 
wondering  when  this  parade  and  excitement 
would  be  over. 

"Billy,"  groaned  honest  Dick,  "I  wish  all  the 
cake  and  chicken  were  out  of  sight,"  and  out  of 
the  window  they  went  by  the  hands  of  Doctor 
Eoss,  and  Collins  was  instructed  not  to  allow  an 
other  morsel  of  tempting  food  to  be  brought  into 
the  car  under  any  circumstances. 

"Now,  boys,"  said  the  good  doctor,  "it  is  time 
for  more  brandy  and  milk,  that's  what  you  need 
instead  of  pies  and  cakes.  These  dainties  may  be 


BILLY  AND  DICK. 

tempting  when  you  see  them,  but  it  would  be 
certain  death  to  eat  them. " 

Dick  thought  if  we  could  sleep  all  the  way  to 
Washington  it  would  be  splendid.  The  doctor 
said  we  should  sleep  at  the  proper  time. 

When  the  brakeman  yelled  out  "London"  I 
was  greatly  excited  and  dreaded  recognition  by 
some  of  my  acquaintances.  Crowds  forced  their 
way  in  with  provisions,  but  were  persuaded  to 
file  past  without  speaking  to  us  on  account  of  our 
weak  condition.  The  platform  was  covered  with 
excited  men  and  women,  with  a  heavy  sprinkling 
of  soldiers.  As  soon  as  we  were  fairly  away  from 
the  depot  the  provisions  which  had  been  left 
followed  the  former  lot  through  the  car  window, 
and  another  source  of  aggravation  was  removed. 
Dick  begged  the  doctor  to  keep  these  things  out 
of  the  car  and  he  promised  to  do  so  if  possible. 

At  Columbus  some  old  ladies  were  seated  oppo 
site  us  and  kept  up  a  running  fire  of  questions. 
"Did  you  know  so  and  so!"  "Tell  us  about 
Andersonville. "  "How  long  were  you  there!". 
"Where  are  you  going!"  "Why  were  you  sent 
in  such  a  plight!"  etc.,  etc.,  until  the  conductor 
interfered  and  removed  them  to  other  seats. 

A  gentleman  addressed  Doctor  Boss  familiarly 
and  asked  who  he  had  there. 

"I'm  blest  if  I  know.  They  are  Ohio  boys  on 
their  way  to  President  Lincoln,  by  orders  of  Gen 
eral  Sherman.  They  have  just  escaped  from  An 
dersonville.  Look  here,  Ed,"  said  the  doctor  as 
he  raised  the  blanket  and  showed  us  to  his  friend. 

"  I'm  afraid  my  boy  is  there, ' '  was  all  the  reply 


.       PASSING  HOME  TOWN.  83 

he  could  make  in  husky  tones,  choking  with  tears 
and  indignation.  He  put  some  money  in  our 
hands,  saying  that  was  the  only  way  he  could  help 
us.  "0,  yes,  you  must  take  it;  you'll  need  it.  If 
I  could  help  you  some  other  way  I  wouldn't  try  to 
force  the  money  upon  you,  but  this  is  all  I  can 
do,  and  you  must  take  it  for  the  sake  of  my  boy. 
0,  if  I  could  only  know  where  he  is." 

He  shook  hands  tenderly  on  leaving  the  car  and 
said:  "Boys,  you  mustn't  give  up  the  ship.  Don't 
Jose  your  grip.  When  your  visit  is  ended  come 
back  to  Zanesville  and  stay  awhile  with  old  Ed 
Stoneman.  He'll  take  care  of  you  in  fine  style." 

"Dick,  that's  what  Ohio  is  made  of,"  said  I,  "no 
bloodhounds  to  chase  starving  prisoners  here. 
These  are  the  sort  of  people  I  like  to  meet,  but 
I'd  like  to-  turn  them  loose  on  Andersonville  for 
awhile."  Dick  laughed  at  the  suggestion  and  re 
marked:  "There'll  be  nothing  for  bloodhounds 
to  live  on  when  Sherman  gets  through  with 
Georgia. ' ' 

"That's  the  kind  of  talk,"  said  Doctor  Boss. 
"Just  keep  that  up  and  you'll  gain  ten  pounds  a 
day.  Why,  you'll  be  wanting  to  go  back  to  your 
regiments  before  you  get  out  of  Washington 
City." 

Dick  didn't  want  any  more  cavalry  service,  but 
thought  infantry  was  good  enough  for  him.  Beef 
tea — sleep — Zanesville — more  beef  tea — brandy 
and  milk — more  sleep — the  constant  rumbling 
and  jolting  of  our  train — opening  and  slamming 
of  doors — crowds  of  questioners  and  answers  by 
Doctor  Eoss  and  Collins  in  dreamy  succession. 


84  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

We  passed  through  Wheeling,  Pittsburg  and  Al- 
loona  in  a  state  of  semi-consciousness,  and  before 
our  arrival  at  Harrisburg,  Doctor  Eoss  kindly 
gave  us  an  opiate  that  carried  us  far  beyond  the 
city  in  blissful  ignorance  of  all  surroundings,  and 
Dick  was  thus  spared  the  most  dreaded  episode 
of  his  journey. 


CHAPTER    X. 


At  the  White  House. 


|E  AEEIVED  at  Washington  about  6:30  A. 
M.,  April  28th,  1864.  Collins  left  us  in 
care  of  Doctor  Eoss  at  a  sort  of  a  sol 
diers'  home  or  hospital  near  the  depot,  and 
reported  to  President  Lincoln  immediately. 
He  soon  returned  with  orders  to  convey  us 
to  the  White  House  at  once.  We  were  ac 
cordingly  loaded  into  an  omnibus  and  driven 
under  the  famous  portico  at  the  main  entrance 
to  that  historic  building  and  carried  into  a  recep 
tion  room  on  the  first  floor,  where  we  remained  an 
hour  or  more.  The  guard  then  beckoned  to  Collins 
and  took  him  directly  to  the  President  by  virtue 
of  the  orders  which  he  bore  from  General  Sher 
man. 

He  returned  in  a  few  minutes  followed  by  Pres 
ident  Lincoln.  The  President  came  striding 
across  the  room,  took  each  of  us  by  the  hand, 
saying,  "Come  along,  boys;  come  along,"  and 


TIRED   AND    SLEEPY. 


85 


undertook  to  lead  us  into  an  adjoining  room. 

Our  feet  had  become  so  swollen  and  sore  that 
we  had  scarcely  borne  our  weight  on  them  since 
leaving  Cincinnati,  but  we  did  manage,  by  the  aid 


Billy  Bates  and  Dick  King-  in  the  presence  of  Abraham  Lincoln  at  the  White 
House. 

of  Collins  and  Doctor  Boss,  to  hobble  along  to  the 
next  room.    The  effort,  pain  and  excitement  took 


86  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

away  our  speech  for  a  minute. 

Mr.  Lincoln  wheeled  a  couple  of  fine  tapes 
tried  chairs  into  position  for  us,  but  we  de 
murred  to  soiling  them.  He  kindly  pushed  us 
down  into  them,  saying,  "  There  is  nothing  in  the 
White  House  too  good  for  my  boys,"  and  sat  a 
moment  looking  at  us  with  one  hand  on  my  head 
and  the  other  on  Dick's  shoulder. 

"Now,  boys,  tell  me  all  about  it.  I  want  to  hear 
your  story.  General  Sherman  has  asked  for  a 
patient  hearing  of  all  you  have  to  say.  So  tell 
me  all  about  it." 

We  were  still  unable  to  speak.  His  considerate 
kindness  broke  us  down.  We  burst  into  tears 
and  were  almost  hysterical.  Seeing  our  con 
dition,  the  President  continued  in  a  kindly  tone 
of  voice,  "Don't  break  down  now,  boys.  Cheer 
up  and  remember  that  you  are  almost  home.  We 
are  all  friends  here,  and  I  want  you  as  friends  of 
mine  to  do  me  a  favor  and  tell  me  all  you  can 
about  Andersonville. ' ' 

Eecovering  in  a  measure  our  self  control,  we 
began,  and  as  we  warmed  up  to  the  work  we<  for 
got  the  wounds,  bruises,  sores  and  filth  of  our 
starved,  emaciated  bodies — forgot  for  the  time 
the  horrors  of  imprisonment  and  the  deadly 
perils  of  escape— forgot  even  that  we  were  at 
the  seat  of  our  great  nation,  in  sight  of  its 
magnificent  capitol  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
greatest  living  ruler,  and  the  noblest,  grandest 
man  on  earth. 

We  talked  on  and  on  with  a  perfect  abandon. 


AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE.  87 

When  one  grew  too  weak  for  speech  the  other 
continued  the  tale. 

The  President  listened  with  close  attention  and 
until  we  finished  our  long  and  rambling  story, 
and  rarely  interrupted  us  by  a  word  or  a  ques 
tion. 

When  we  had  finished  he  turned  to  Dick  and 
asked  whose  son  he  was.  Dick  replied  that  his 
father  was  dead,  was  killed  at  Fort  Donelson,  but 
his  mother  was  Mary  King  of  Harrisburg,  Penn 
sylvania.  The  President  took  his  full  name,  com 
pany,  regiment  and  State.  Having  noted  these 
down,  he  turned  to  me,  saying: 

"•Who  are  you,  my  boy?" 

I  replied  that  I  was  a  son  of  Calvin  Bates,  of 
Mansfield,  Richland  County,  Ohio— Ralph  Bates 
by  name,  and  belonged  to  Troop  H,  Ninth  Ohio 
Cavalry. 

A  gentleman  present  stepped  in  front  of  me  and 
asked  sharply:  "What  was  that  you  said,  boy?" 
His  quick  manner  startled  me,  but  I  repeated 
that  I  was  the  son  of  Calvin  Bates,  of  Richland 
County,  Ohio,  and  that  I  knew  him  perfectly  well 
—that  he  was  General  Sam  Cary,  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  and  that  I  had  sat  on  his  knee  dozens  of 
times  in  my  father 's  house. 

Mr.  Lincoln  looked  nervously  towards  him  and 
asked : 

1 '  Cary,  do  you  know  this  boy 's  father  ? ' ' 

"Know  his  father?  Know  that  boy's  father? 
Indeed  I  do.  He  is  doing  as  much  or  more  than 
any  man  in  the  State  of  Ohio  towards  supplying 
the  army  and  putting  down  the  rebellion." 


88  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

The  President  sprang  to  his  feet  and  started 
toward  the  door,  saying,  "My  God,  when  will  this 
accursed  thing  end  I" 

He  and  General  Gary  excused  themselves  for  a 
few  minutes,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  to  transmit 
the  following  telegram  to  my  father: 


Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  D.  C., 

April  28,  1864. 
Galvin  Bates,  Mansfield,  Ohio: 

Your  son,  Ralph  Bates,  of  Troop  H,  Ninth  Ohio 
Cavalry,  has  made  his  escape  from  Andersonville 
prison.  He  is  in  my  care.  I  will  send  him  home. 
Don  >t  let  him  die.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

President. 


He  returned  in  a  few  minutes  and  said:  "Now, 
boys,  just  keep  quiet;  we  will  soon  have  your 
affairs  all  right,"  and  commenced  to  question  us 
anew. 

"Did  the  guards  take  good  care  of  you?  Who 
is  the  other  man  you  have  alluded  to,  boys?" 

Collins  replied  that  it  was  Doctor  Eoss,  of 
Xenia,  Ohio,  who  came  with  us  at  his  own  ex 
pense. 

"Where  is  he!    Bring  him  in  immediately." 

He  then  questioned  Doctor  Boss  closely  con 
cerning  our  condition  when  he  first  saw  us  at 
Cincinnati,  and  finally,  turning  to  Collins,  ordered 


WITH  THE  PRESIDENT.  89 

him  to  have  us  washed  and  supplied  with  suitable 
clothing  and  returned  at  once  to  the  White  House. 

While  Collins  was  securing  a  carriage  the 
President  and  General  Gary  were  walking  about 
the  room  talking  in  undertones. 

On  our  return  to  the  hospital  we  were  taken 
to  the  bathroom  and  stripped  of  our  rags,  when 
the  work  of  cleaning  up  began.  We  were  rubbed, 
scrubbed,  scraped  and  doused  until  we  could 
endure  it  no  longer,  and  our  hair  and  beards  were 
shingled  as  close  to  the  skin  as  possible.  Brandy 
was  administered  once  or  tiwce  to  strengthen  us 
for  the  ordeal,  but  it  came  near  being  too  much 
for  us  in  spite  of  all.  We  actually  collapsed  until 
the  doctor  was  alarmed. 

A  free  use  of  stimulants  rallied  us  for  a  time 
and  the  work  of  donning  new  suits  of  blue  com 
menced.  Our  new  clothes  hung  on  us  like  the 
covering  of  a  scarecrow. 

Our  novel  appearance  at  once  aroused  Dick's 
vein  of  humor  and  he  remarked:  "Collins,  you 
are  the  most  extravagant  man  I  ever  saw." 

"Why  so?  "asked  Collins. 

"Don't  you  see  we  could  just  as  well  both  be 
put  into  one  suit  and  thus  be  more  economical?" 

After  this  transformation  we  were  re-conveyed 
to  the  White  House  and  put  to  bed. 

The  President  came  in  to  see  us,  and  finding  us 
in  bed,  limp,  white  and  speechless,  said: 

"Has  it  come  to  this?  Never  mind,  you  will 
soon  be  walking  about." 

Just  then  a  lady  came  into  the  room,  when  Mr. 
Lincoln  turned  to  us  and  said: 


90  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

"Boys,  this  is  the  other  half  of  this  adminis 
tration,  "  He  seemed  to  be  in  a  jovial  mood, 
made  a  number  of  humorous  remarks  and  told 
stories  to  provoke  our  sense  of  mirth,  and  gave 
us  several  pretty  severe  pinches,  as  he  said,  "Just 
to  see  if  there  was  a  pinch  of  flesh  on  either  of 
us." 

Mrs.  Lincoln  was  for  giving  us  "something 
good  to  eat,"  but  Doctor  Eoss  forbade  it  per 
emptorily. 

Mr.  Lincoln  said  Doctor  Boss  was  medical 
director  of  that  department  and  must  be  obeyed 
accordingly.  We  were  then  left  alone  for  a  much 
needed  sleep. 

On  waking  Doctor  Koss  took  us  to  another 
room  to  be  weighed.  Here  we  found  President 
Lincoln,  General  Gary  and  several  other  gentle 
men  assembled  to  witness  this  operation  and  cer 
tify  to  its  correctness.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  weigh- 
master  and  directed  Dick  to  be  put  on  the  scales. 
He  seemed  to  distrust  his  own  senses  the  first 
time  and  had  him  put  on  again  to  be  sure  he  was 
right. 

"Gary,  this  man  weighs  sixty-four  and  a  half 
pounds. ' ' 

I  was  next  put  on  the  scales,  when  he  called  out : 
"Gary,  this  one  weighs  only  fifty-nine  and  three- 
fourths  pounds." 

The  President  returned  with  us  to  our  bedroom 
and  sat  some  time,  asking  additional  questions 
about  Andersonville,  as  they  occurred  to  him. 
As  I  answered  carefully  I  observed  that  General 
Gary  was  taking  notes  of  all  that  was  said.  On 


STARTING  HOMEWARD.  91 

leaving  the  room  with  General  Gary  the  President 
remarked:  "I  hope  you  will  rest  tonight.  I  will 
send  you  home  as  soon  as  it  is  safe  for  you  to 
travel." 

The  next  day  was  one  of  glorious,  unbroken 
rest.  Visitors  were  excluded. 

The  following  morning-  we  were  carried  into 
a  large  dining-room  and  propped  up  in  chairs  in 
front  of  the  table,  when  President  Lincoln  came 
in  and  seated  himself  between  us.  Our  breakfast 
consisted  of  beef  tea  and  boiled  milk;  there  was 
nothing  else  in  sight  on  the  table. 


CHAPTER     XI. 


Arrival  at  Home. 


TER  BREAKFAST  the  President  had  an 
other  interview  with  Collins,  but  we  could 
not  hear  the  conversation.  Another  day 
and  night  passed  without  interruption.  On  the 
following  morning  we  were  much  improved.  On 
the  eleventh  morning  President  Lincoln  came  to 
the  room  to  say  goodbye  and  told  us  to  be  of  good 
cheer  for  we  were  to  start  for  home  that  day.  We 
tried  to  thank  him  for  his  kindness  but  did  not 
succeed  very  well  in  words,  but  he  assured  us 
we  need  not  be  anxious  about  that.  Collins  was  to 
see  Dick  safe  home  at  Harrisburg,  and  two  Ver 
mont  soldiers  just  out  of  the  convalescent  hos 
pital  were  detailed  to  take  me  to  Mansfield. 


92  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

Taking  our  last  farewell  of  President  Lincoln 
we  started  for  the  depot,  steamed  out  from  the 
shadow  of  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  on  the  dome  of 
the  capitol,  and  felt  for  the  first  time  that  we 
were  indeed  on  the  way  home.  Every  possible 
arrangement  seems  to  have  been  made  for  our 
comfort,  by  direction  of-the  President.  We  learned 
from  Collins  that  he  had  been  given  a  furlough  of 
sixty  days.  He  intended  visiting  friends  in  Pitts- 
burg  for  a  day  or  two  and  then  proceed  to  his 
home  in  Moline,  Illinois,  at  which  place  he  desired 
letters  sent  him  occasionally  informing  him  how 
we  were  getting  on,  etc.  Doctor  Eoss  determined  to 
accompany  me  to  Mansfield  after  leaving  Dick  in 
Harrisburg. 

The  thought  of  separation  depressed  Diek  and 
myself  greatly,  but  it  was  not  until  the  train 
actually  stopped  at  Harrisburg  and  Doctor  Boss 
took  Dick  in  his  arms  to  carry  him  from  the  car 
that  we  fully  realized  how  dear  we  had  become  to 
each  other. 

Mrs.  King  stood  waiting  on  the  platform  and  in 
a  moment  there  was  a  rush,  and  I  could  hear  her 
thanking  God  and  invoking  His  blessing  on  all 
who  had  befriended  her  boy.  The  doctor  put 
Dick  into  a  cab  and  returned  with  Mrs.  King,  who 
insisted  on  seeing  me. 

' '  I  have  prayed,  and  prayed  for  you  both,  now  I 
am  entirely  satisfied.  Goodbye,  me  boy,  and  may 
God  save  ye  and  bless  ye  always, "  was  the  last  I 
heard  as  the  train  moved  away. 

Doctor  Eoss  sat  by  me  for  awhile,  but  neither 
he  nor  Collins  could  fill  Dick's  place,  and  my  grief 


ARRIVAL  AT  HOME.  93 

and  excitement  became  so  great  that  the  doctor 
administered  an  opiate. 

The  next  morning  we  parted  with  Collins  at 
Pittsburg  and  soon  crossed  the  line  into  Ohio.  I 
had  a  morbid  dread  of  meeting  old  acquaintances 
and  as  I  rode  on  from  station  to  station  I  was  con 
stantly  looking  around  to  see  if  any  one  knew  me. 
But  fortunately  we  passed  through  Alliance  and 
other  places  where  I  had  many  friends  without 
any  painful  recognitions.  Canton  and  Wooster 
were  called  out,  but  the  stations  seemed  to  be  a 
thousand  miles  apart. 

At  last  we  pulled  into  Mansfield,  just  after  dark, 
and  by  arrangement  with  Doctor  Eoss  I  was  hasti 
ly  taken  from  the  car  on  the  opposite  side  from  the 
platform,  put  into  a  carriage  unobserved  and 
driven  to  the  Wilder  House,  where  I  hoped  to  hide 
away  from  the  crowd  until  my  people  could  be 
notified  of  my  arrival. 

As  I  was  carried  into  the  private  entrance  the 
landlady  inquired :  "Who  is  there f" 

Doctor  Eoss  replied,  "A  sick  soldier.  Please 
keep  very  quiet  but  give  us  a  comfortable  bed 
immediately. ' ' 

But  she  was  expecting  my  arrival  and  knew  me 
at  sight.  When  I  was  comfortably  in  bed  she 
called  to  her  husband.  He  wanted  to  know  what 
was  the  matter. 

"Nothing.  But  come  here,"  and  as  he  entered 
'the  room  she  said:  "See  Cal.'s  boy." 

Mr.  Crosby  stood  gazing  at  me  awhile  in  dumb 
astonishment,  deliberately  took  off  his  coat  and 
vest  and  hung  them  up  on  a  peg  in  the  same  room, 


94  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

rolled  his  shirt  sleeves  above  his  elbow,  as  though 
these  combined  operations  in  some  way  gave  vent 
to  his  feelings,  and  marched  away  in  search  of  my 
father. 

He  found  him  in  the  crowd  inquiring  and  looking 
for  me.  The  two  came  into  the  room  together 
and  my  father  stood  looking  at  me  for  a  few 
minutes  without  attempting  to  speak,  when  he 
turned  away  suddenly  and  commenced  stripping 
off  his  clothes  like  a  prize  fighter,  precisely  as  Mr. 
Crosby  had  done. 

The  two  men  started  out  together.  My  presence 
was  restraining  upon  them — the  walls  of  a  house, 
—a  suffocating  confinement.  They  sought  the  free 
open  air  of  the  streets  and  commons  of  Mansfield 
before  either  could  give  vent  to  his  emotions. 
Citizens  assembled  by  hundreds  and  followed 
them  about,  sympathized  and  condoled  or  cursed 
and  swore,  as  their  varying  moods  impelled  them, 
and  a  carnival  by  Bedlamites  never  half  equalled 
the  extravagance  of  that  quiet  inland  city  that 
night. 

But  while  Mr.  Crosby  was  hunting  my  father, 
his  wife  was  on  her  way  for  my  mother.  I  had 
always  dreaded  this  meeting,  expecting  a  scene. 
I  was  too  weak  to  repress  my  own  feelings  and 
expected  my  mother  to  break  down  altogether. 

How  different  was  the  reality.  She  came  into 
the  room  in  a  matter  of  fact  sort  of  way,  as  though 
she  had  only  parted  from  me  half  an  hour  before, 
and  without  staring  me  out  of  countenance,  as  so 
many  did,  said  as  composedly  as  could  be: 

"Why.  Ralph,  you  look  better  than  I  expected," 


DICK   AT  HOME.  95 

as  she  tenderly  arranged  my  clothing.  Unrolling 
a  package  in  her  hand  she  tied  on  a  large  apron 
and  said  she  would  soon  have  me  well  again  and 
out  of  that.  Only  that  and  nothing  more.  Not 
a  word,  a  start,  a  scream  or  hysterical  fainting 
fit;  not  even  a  tear,  lest  the  nerves  of  her  boy 
might  be  shaken  thereby  and  his  recovery  delayed 
or  endangered. 

0,  the  mother  love — the  mother  love — God  for 
ever  bless  and  hallow  it  in  high  and  low!  Her 
dear  eyes  had  been  drowned  in  tears  through  all 
the  dreary  months  of  my  imprisonment,  and  full 
measure  of  her  anguish  was  only  known  to  her 
Maker.  But  her  boy  was  returned  to  her  arms,  as 
she  believed,  in  direct  answer  to  her  importunate 
prayers  and  supplications,  and  the  springs  of  her 
heart  were  welling  up  with  happiness  and  her  cup 
of  joy  was  filled  to  overflowing. 

I  learned  afterwards  that  President  Lincoln's 
dispatch  to  my  father  was  taken  from  the  wire  by 
an  operator  who  did  not  know  his  address.  Lieu 
tenant  Eose,  of  the  38th  Ohio  Infantry,  was  present 
and  volunteered  to  deliver  the  message.  He  had 
just  passed  father  and  mother  on  their  way  to 
church  and  proceeded  directly  there.  The  telegram 
was  handed  to  the  minister  in  the  pulpit,  who  an 
nounced,  "A  dispatch  for  Calvin  Bates." 

Father  rose  and  said:    "Read  it." 

The  minister  undertook  to  do  so,  but  broke 
down  and  couldn't  speak.  Lieutenant  Eose  then 
read  it  aloud.  There  was  a  moment's  silence, 
when  my  mother  rose  from  her  seat  and  com 
menced  a  circuit  of  the  church  pews,  shaking 


96  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

hands  in  her  excitement  with  every  soul  in  the 
building.  The  rejoicing  was  general  by  this  time 
and  the  after  exercises  were  in  the  nature  of  a 
thanksgiving  service  over  one  who  was  lost  but 
was  found  again. 

T  was  carried  home  from  the  hotel  next  day  and 
my  recovery  was  rapid  from  that  date.  In  three 
weeks  I  could  walk  about  the  house  and  in  eleven 
weeks  reported  to  the  provost  marshal  at  Colum 
bus  for  duty. 

By  the  direction  of  President  Lincoln,  Doctor 
Ross  furnished  me  with  the  necessary  medical 
certificates.  I  might  have  obtained  a  much  longer 
furlough.  My  parents  objected  to  my  returning  to 
the  field  at  all.  Governor  Brough,  of  Ohio,  offered 
me  several  home  appointments  and  urged  me  to 
accept  one.  But  my  heart  was  with  my  comrades 
at  the  front  and  I  was  determined  to  return.  As 
a  last  alternative  Governor  Brough,  in  response 
to  my  mother's  request,  ordered  me  to  report  to 
Governor  Oliver  P.  Morton,  of  Indiana,  by  whom 
I  was  appointed  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  129th 
Regiment'  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry. 

I  joined  my  new  command  under  fire  on  the 
slope  of  Kenesaw  Mountain,  during  Sherman's 
celebrated  advances  on  Atlanta,  and  remained 
with  that  regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Charles 
Zolinger,  until  we  reached  Marietta.  I  was  then 
ordered  to  report  to  General  McQuiston,  com 
manding  the  Second  Brigade,  First  Division, 
Twenty-third  Army  Corps,  and  served  on  his 
staff  as  an  orderly  until  the  end  of  the  war. 

We  participated  in  all  subsequent  operations 


AT   HOME   WITH   MOTHER.  97 

against  Atlanta;  proceeded  as  far  as  Jonesboro; 
returned  with  General  Thomas  to  the  defense  of 
Tennessee;  were  in  the  battles  of  Franklin  and 
Nashville,  went  east  with  General  Schofield;  took 
boat  from  Alexandria  in  Virginia  to  assist  in  the 
capture  of  Fort  Fisher,  North  Carolina,  and  were 
transported  thence  to  Moorehead  City,  Newbern 
and  Kingston;  shared  the  marching  and  fighting  at 
Kingston,  Goldborough,  Baleigh  and  Greens- 
borough,  and  witnessed  the  surrender  of  General 
Joe  Johnston's  army. 

From  thence  we  marched  to  Charlotte,  North 
Carolina,  where  we  remained  until  mustered  out 
of  the  service  August  6,  1865. 

Dick  and  I  were  subsequently  subpoenaed  to 
give  evidence  on  the  trial  of  Captain  Wirz  by  the 
United  States  Government,  on  the  charge  of  mur 
der,  for  his  treatment  of  prisoners  at  Anderson- 
ville  prison,  and  I  kept  to  the  letter,  my  promise 
made  to  him,  by  seeing  him  hung  at  Washington 
City,  on  the  morning  of  November  10th,  1865. 


IN  MEMOEIAM 

of 

Ealph  0.  Bates; 

Born  June  29,  1847,  in  Mansfield,  Ohio. 
Died  Dec.  27,  1909,  in  Santa  Cruz,  California. 

(From  Santa  Cruz  "Surf,"  Jan.  1,  1910.) 
Comrades  of  the  local  post  of  the  Grand  Army 


98  BILLY  AND  DICK. 

of  the  Eepublic  buried  December  28,  1909,  in 
Santa  Cruz,  the  body  of  a  man,  whose,  name 
and  fame  will  be  immortal,  and  when  his 
tory's  final  Scroll  of  Ages  is  unrolled,  it  will 
be  seen  how  his  life  wrought  more  than  he  ever 
knew,  or  the  men  of  his  times  perceived. 
While  he  lived  it  was  not  possible  to  detach 
his  personality  from  the  story.  It  was  his 
own  story.  It  is  now  the  nation's  heritage, 
and  ought  to  become  a  standard  work  in  every 
American  library,  and  read  in  every  American 
home. 


EICHAED   KING: 

Born  September  7,  1845,  in  Harrisburg, 

Pennsylvania. 
Died  Oct.  9,  1890,  in  Vineland,  New  Jersey. 

(From  Santa  Cruz  "Sentinel,"  Jan.  2,  1910.) 
This  past  week  has  marked  the  death  in  Santa 
Cruz  of  Ealph  Orr  Bates,  who  has  spent  more  than 
forty  years  lecturing  to  G.  A.  Es.  and  churches 
and  schools  throughout  the  country.  In  the  fall 
of  1867  he  went  to  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  to  col 
lege,  and  in  the  spring  of  1868  was  called  by  Gen 
eral  Garfield  from  his  school  to  give  the  first  lec 
ture,  in  the  old  gray  stone  church,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  square  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  At  the  close 
of  the  lecture  General  Garfield  stepped  forward 
and  pinned  on  l  i Billy "  seven  gold  medals,  of  the 


IN    MEMORIAM.  99 

seven  prisons  he  had  passed  through,  and  asked 
"  Billy "  to  promise  to  spend  his  life  telling  that 
story  to  the  coming  generations,  which  " Billy" 
has  done. 

While  traveling  the  Western  States,  in  the 
winter  of  1893,  Mr.  Bates  met  0.  M.  Whitney  of 
Tacoma,  Washington.  They  became  fast  friends, 
and  on  April  3d  of  that  year  the  latter  joined 
"Billy"  as  his  private  secretary.  They  traveled 
the  Northern  and  Central  States,  with  the  love  of 
brother  between  them. 

Mr.  Bates  came  to  Santa  Cruz  three  years  ago, 
and  only  last  May  found  where  his  friend  and 
past  secretary  was,  and  in  six  weeks  had  Mr. 
Whitney  with  him,  here  in  Santa  Cruz,  which  was 
a  soothing  influence  to  Mr.  Bates,  to  have  the  care 
of  one  he  loved  as  a  brother  in  his  hours  of  suffer 
ing.  And  Mr.  Whitney  rejoices  that  he  had  the 
opportunity  to  wait  upon  his  comrade  and  friend 
in  those  last  hours. 

While  the  two  were  traveling  in  the  Central 
States  they  met  Kozella  E.  Middleton,  whom  Mr. 
Bates  married  Sept.  5,  1895,  in  Middletown,  Indi 
ana,  who  was  a  loving  wife  and  faithful  nurse. 


THE  END. 


ROZELLA  E.  BATES  IN  1905 


INDEX 


Testimonials    Page     3 

Preface  Page     5 

Introduction    Page     6 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Billy  and  Dick  in  the  Chain  Gang Page  38 

Billy  Suspended  by  the  Thumbs '. Page  40 

A  Race  for  Life Page  53 

At  -Aunt  'Liza's  Cabin Page  58 

Billy  and  Dick  at  the  White  House Page  85 

CHAPTER   I. 

ENLISTED  AND  A  PRISONER— Mustered  in— Scout 
ing — On  Picket  Duty — Surprised  and  Captured — 
— Taken  to  Richmond,  Va. — In  Castle  Thunder — 
At  Libby  Prison Page  9 

CHAPTER  II. 

HARDSHIPS  BEGIN— At  Wilmington— Cornmeal  and 
Spoiled  Meat  for  Food — Robbed  of  Our  Clothing — 
Richard  King — Resisting  Tyranny — Knocked  Sense 
less  and  Put  in  Irons — A  Lasting  Pledge Page  16 

CHAPTER  III. 

FROM  PRISON  TO  PRISON— In  a  Pitiable  Condition 
— Packed  Into  a  Dark  Cellar  and  Dying  From  Suffo 
cation — Georgia  "Crackers" — A  Heartless  Tyrant.. Page  22 


CHAPTER  IV. 

AT  ANDERSONVILLE— Building  the  Stockade- 
More  Privations — Captain  Wirz— Fresh  Arrivals — 
Appalling  Mortality — Billy  and  Dick  in  the  Chain 
Gang — Hung  Up  by  the  Thumbs — Shot  by  the  In 
human  Wirz Page  30 

CHAPTER  V. 

DIGGING  A  TUNNEL — Maturing  Plans— Tha  Tunnel 
Completed — The  Departure — Hiding  in  Swamps — A 
Feast  of  Raw  Corn — Pursued  by  Bloodhounds — A 
Hairibreadth  Escape  Page  43 

CHAPTER  VI. 

AT  AUNT  'LIZA'S  CABIN— Swimming  the  River— 
A  Light  Ahead — In  Total  Darkness — Aunt  'Liza's 
Hospitality Page  55 

CHAPTER  VII. 

CHALLENGED  BY  A  UNION  SENTINEL— Farewell 
to  Aunt  'Liza  and  Noah — Sounds  of  a  Church  Bell — 
Booming  of  Cannon — A  Desperate  Predicament — 
Halted— Within  Union  Lines Page  62 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

AT  GEN.  SHERMAN'S  HEADQUARTERS— More 
Dead  Than  Alive — The  General  Hears  Our  Story — 
His  Indignation— The  President  Shall  See  You  as 
You  Are  Page  68 

CHAPTER  IX. 

ON  TO  WASHINGTON— Gen.  Sherman's  Parting 
Words— Collins  Put  in  Charge — Train  Attacked  by 
Bushwhackers — A  Heroic  Woman — Some  Confed 
erate  Prisoners,  a  Striking  Contrast — Collins'  Trials 
— Dr.  Ross — Crowds  Besiege  the  Train Page  72 


CHAPTER  X. 

AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE— Received  by  the  President 
— The  Story  Repeated— An  Old  Friend— A  Wonder 
ful  Transformation — On  the  Scales — President  Lin 
coln's  Kindness  Page  84 

CHAPTER  XL 

ARRIVAL  AT  HOME— Words  of  Cheer— Dick  Meets 
His  Mother — A  Sad  Parting — A  Father's  Reception 
— A  Mother's  Love — Recovered — Return  to  ths 
Front — Poor  Dick  Page  91 


L 


»-•    ^ 


BILLY  AND  DICK. 


From    Andersonville   Prison    to     the 
White   House. 

BY  RALPH  O.  BATES.  CBILLY) 


The   Most   Chaste   and   Entertaining 
Lecture  Before  the  American  People. 


Old    and    Young    Listen     With     Breathless    Attention. 


Endorsed  by  Universities,  Golle&es,  Schools,  the  Press, 
Pulpit  and  the  People  Everywhere. 


History  of  Seven  Prisons. 

The  Tunnel  and  Escape  from  Andersonville  Prison. 

Pursued  by  Blood  Hounds  and  Horsemen. 

Hospitalities  of  the  Colored  People. 

Reaching  the  Union  Line. 

Reception  by  General  Sherman. 

Scene  at  the  General's  Headquarters. 

Billy  and  Dick  sent  to  Washington   by  Gen.  Sherman's  Orders. 

Arrival  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Reception  and  Interview  with  President  Lincoln, 

Twelve  Days  in  the  White  House. 

This  Lecture  is  non-partisan,  non-sectarian.     It  teaches  a  lesson  of  patriotism,  love 
of  home,  of  country  and  of  God. 

YOU  CANNOT  AFFORD  TO  MISS  IT. 


Unsolicited  Endorsements. 

"No  act  in  the  drama  of  American  History  is  more  tragic  and  dram 
atic." — Oakland  Cal.  Enquirer. 

This  thrilling  story  has  been  repeated  scores  of  times  in  all  the  lead- 
cities  of  the  west.  It  was  fir^t  given  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  1868,  when  he 
was  called  there  by  General  Garfield;  then  repeated  forty-three  times  in  the 
public  schools  and  leading  churches  of  that  city  in  1897. 

"Eloquent — Pathetic." —  Boise  Statesman, 

"The  audience  was  held  spell  bound. "Rev.  M.  G.  Ham,  Vermillion, 
Kansas. 

"It  inspires  children  with  patriotism."  A.  Tibbets,  Prin.  Public 
Schools,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

"It  is  chaste  and  loyal." — Rev.  C.  H.  Stocking,  St.  Joseph,  Mo. 

"Everybody  listened  with  breathless  attention. — St.   Paul  Globe. 
"It  is  grand."— John    Harnois,    Adj.    Custer    Post,   G.  A.  R.,  St.  Joseph, 
Mo. 

"Every  man,  woman  and  child  should  hear  it.  It  teaches  a  lesson  of 
grit  and  perserverance. — E.  H.  Bush,  Com'd.,  J  L.  Neff,  adj  Brooklyn 
GAR,  Post  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

"There  never  has  been  an  audience  in  Assembly  Hall  so  thrilled  and 
stirred  to  the  innermost  depths  of  their  hearts. —  Chagrin  Falls  Ex 
ponent. 


"The  story  is  graphically  told— a  picture  painted  with  a    brush  dipped   in  his   own 
heart's  blood." — Greenburg,  Ind. ,  Daily  News. 

"It  will  inspire  patriotism  and  love  of  God  and  home  in  the  hardest  hearts." C.  E. 

Lawyer,  Vice-Pres.  Epworth  League,  Kokomo,  Indiana. 

"The  most  thrilling  lecture  of  them  all."— Rev.  S.  H.  Stokes,  Atlanta,  Ind, 

"The  best  I  ever  heard."— Rev.  D.  Tillotson,  Frankfort,  Ind. 

"Everybody  delighted."— Rev.  O.  E.  Lands,  Plymouth,  Ind. 

"The  narrative  was  touching  indeed  and  at  times  his  hearers  were  in  tears.— -Eaton, 
Ind.,  Herald. 

"The  story  is  not  overdrawn."— Wabash  Republican. 

"He  is  an  orator  of  great  power."— Daily  Tribune,  South  Bend,  Ind. 

"The  editor  of  this  paper  personally  knows  Mr.  Bates  and  can   recommend   his   lec 
ture  without  stint  or  mental  reservation."— St.  Joseph  Michigan  Press. 

"The  finest  lecture  we  ever  heard  from  any  platform'" — Lapel,  Ind.,  Glarion. 

4 'It  is  worth  four  times  the  price  of  admission,  and  will  do  you  good."— Rev.  A.   J. 
Cary,  Arcadia,  Ind. 

"I  heartily  endorse  it."— Rev.  J.  L.  Parks,  Elkhart,  Ind. 

•'The  best  lecture  on  the  subject  I  ever  heard."— Rev.  Z.  Mosse,  Dowagiac,  Mich. 

"It  must  be  heard  to  be  appreciated."— Rev.  W.  Gosset,  Marion,  Ind. 
,     Enthusiastically  endorsed  by  Rev.  J.  M.  Driver,  Marion,  Ind. 

Endorsed  by  resolution,  Washingtou  Camp  38,  P.  O.  S.  of  A.,  Winchester,    Ind.,    B. 
F.  Marsh,  Pres. 

"I  most  heartily  endorse   your  lecture." — W.  S.  Dillon,  Ass't  Sec'y   Y.   M.   C.   A., 
Broadway  Dep't,  Cleveland;  Ohio. 

"I  think  every  member  of  the  audience  was  better  in  some  respects  for  having  heard 
Mr.  Bates."— G.  A.  Rdetenik.  Prin.  South  High  School,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

"Everyone  was  well  pleased."— W.  Gillispie.  Princ.  Wickliffe  School. 

"It  made  a  profound  impression  on  the  pupils  of  our   schools." — F.  P.  Schumakcr, 
Supt.  Public  Schools  and  clerk  board  of  sehol  examiners,  Chagrin  Falls,  Ohio. 


Endorsed  by 


H.  H.  Cully,  A.  M.,  Supt.  Schools,  Glenville,  Ohio. 
E.  E.  Raymond,  A.  M.,  Supt.  Schools..  Berea,  Ohio. 
Rev.  J.  R.  Jacob,  M.  E.  Church,  Willoughby,  Ohio. 
J.  W.  Jay,  Supt.  Schools,  Forte  Ville,  Ind. 
D.  W.  Thomas,  Supt.  Schools,  Elkhart,  Ind. 
R.  E.  Harris,  Supt.  Schools,  Broad  Ripple,  Ind. 
Rev- J.  W.  Walker,  M.  E.  Church,  Danville,  Ind. 
J  D.  O'Neal.  Pastor  M.  E.  Church,  Indianopolis,  Ind. 

C.  H.  Murray,  Osceola,  Ind. 

S.  B   Laird,  Supt.  Schools,  Dowagiac,  Mich. 

J.  D  Chiller,  Supt.  Schools,  Niles,  Michigan. 

E.A  Wilson,  Supt.  Schools,  Benton  Harbor,  Mich. 

H.  M.  Caylor,  Department  Commander  G.  A.  R. ,  State  of  Indiana. 

Hon.  Thomas  E.  Boyed,  State  Senator,  Nobleville,  Ind. 

D.  C.  Woolpert,  D.  D.,  Pres.  Warsaw,  College, 
Rev    Harvey  Harris,  Milton,  Ind. 


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